Written by: Donny Cates
Art by: Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie
Publisher: Image Comics
I think I might really like God Country.
At this point, we’re three issues deep and I’m still just as excited about this book as I was coming out of its debut. Donnie Cates just does such a phenomenal job of keeping the story grounded, despite its sci-fi/fantasy bent. He deftly strikes a balance between spending time with the Quinlan family and doing the whole high-concept sci-fi thing with Valofax and the celestial beings.
This issue feels like a melding of the first two. The first half is the slowed down, character driven moments that dominated issue #2. But the back half? The back half is where the book really gets moving, returning to the fast-paced action of the debut issue. It’s a good mix of all the elements that make this book so excellent.
It certainly helps that this issue is really solidifying some more character conflicts. The more character-oriented faced in the first two issues felt fleeting, and were largely solved by Emmett coming into the possession of Valofax. And while I would love to see the Quinlans just kickin’ it and being happy, that would get a little boring. So, we see the emergence of some new tensions, which seem to be really well handled thus far. Despite the fantastical backdrop, they feel like real, human problems, and I love that.
As for the action, well, I’ve sung the praises of Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie before, and I’m all too willing to do it again. The villain designs are stunning, and the panels that see them emerging from the shadows are legitimately terrifying. The whole book has a lived-in feel to it that really makes the world come alive.
The visuals that are crafted here truly are distinct. Sure, it’s easy to see where inspirations have been drawn, both from the real world and from fiction. But it’s the melding of the real and the fictional, the muted color pallet brought to light by flares of bright pink and icy blues, the looks of happiness and despair on the faces of the characters that sets this book apart from the crowd.
It’s hard to find elements of the book to really complain about, to be completely honest. The creative team does so much exceptional work here, and it never really comes with any caveats.
I think I really love God Country.
