A Review of The Recount Preamble
The Recount Preamble
Jonathan Hedrick words
Rubén Gil López art
Lorenzo Palombo colors
Joel Rodriguez letters
From Scout Comics
Let Jonathan Hedrick show you why politics need to be in comics and peep this solicit:
Scout's hit series is back! Set years before the shocking events of The Recount, Preamble details the life of Phil Pontus, the tragic death of his mother, his military service and subsequent decision to enter politics, his assent to the office of Vice President, and the terrible events that culminated in his assumption of leadership of a terrorist group known only as "The Masses."
Every hero deserves an origin story, but I think that cliche makes us, at times, forget that the greatest of villains are made as well. Constructed from the societal chaos burdening their livelihoods, these characters arise to instill fear rather than inspire the masses. Jonathan Hedrick poses a situation where a truly evil villain is capable of doing both. In this preamble to the terrifying events of The Recount, we see a terrorist formed. Hedrick takes us on the path of a hero and throws a big, scary wrench into the gears.
A young child overcomes trauma. A rising star in the military saves the day and gets the girl. That hero joins the political circus, but what happens when America forgets about the hero? What happens when the societal importance of a once Vice President of the United States of America bleeds away? When the newspapers find you dilapidated and the perks from being at the top of the mountain won’t cater to you anymore, what do you do?
There are several terrifying elements in Hedrick’s political thriller, but one of its most crucial properties is that anyone can go bad. We see this every day: politicians and their toxic agendas, police and their ease to embrace violence, teenagers firing guns into crowds of innocent people. We’ve also seen that evil embraced by millions of Americans. Murderers made into icons. The news made into fiction. Rights to biology willingly given away by the ignorant masses.
The masses.
How easy is it, truly, to conquer and control the masses? Hedrick takes that question and plays numerous games with it. He took his audience on a wild, political thrillride with last years’ Recount. America, itself, seemed to follow suit. It got scary. People climbed the walls of the Capitol. People paraded streets armed for battle. We saw riots. We choked on tear gas. We prayed to gods like they would intervene. Still, a large portion of our populace saw no wrong in any of this. They drank the Kool Aid, and the Kool Aid drinkin was good.
This is America: regular people can rise up and do great things. But there is also an America where regular people can rise up and terrify, make enemies of their fellow countrymen and instill a fear so great it instills hate in the easily malleable. Hedrick tells this story to perfection in The Recount Preamble.
The art, as with the previous issues of The Recount, is absolute perfection. It’s got a real human grit to the panels. We’re dealing with a lot less action between the covers of this issue, but Rubén Gil López’ art still shines. López shows us regular people doing irregular things. We see the softness of falling in love juxtaposed with the sharpness of military precision. We see anger, fear and sadness. We see heartbreaks in-panel. As an artist, López never fails at producing the correct human emotions at the right times. These pages hit hard. You’ll feel for the monster because he wasn’t always a monster, and that’s a really strong element to this comic.
Lorenzo Palombo controls the mood with color. The military flashbacks are dark. They’re scary. People die. The bar where Pontus agrees to the VP offer is dim and full of gloom. The hospital scene is bright while simultaneously deadening. These elements strategically control the mood of the audience, and they’re a sign of a great color artist.
Joel Rodriguez letters the issue and does an excellent job. The sound effects are always on point. Dialog and exposition boxes are placed in all the right spots. Hedrick has a lot of story to tell here, but nothing ever gets in the way of the wonderful art.
The Recount Preamble is a great book. Pick it up tomorrow and think about the ways we let this country change us. Think about what you’re willing to believe and what you’re bound to be turned into.
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