Afterburn: Crossfire #1
Red 5 Comics 2019
Created & Written by Scott Chitwood
Illustrated by Rod Thornton
Coloured by Sean Lee
Lettered by Troy Peteri
Two years ago a massive solar flare hit the dayside of Earth. Europe, Africa and Asia were bombarded by radiation that killed most living things and mutated the remaining survivors. But amid the destruction, some treasures were left behind. Hired by the wealthy in the untouched West, raiders illegally venture into the Burn Zone to recover valuable items. Risking life and limb, they face mutant gangs, rogue armies, and other hazards to score a payday of a lifetime. But if treasure raiding was easy, anybody could do it. That’s where Jake and his crew come in.
I remember when the first arc came out and I was extremely impressed with the premise and what we were seeing. The concept merges together a few end of world scenarios adds in an unscathed land and those would do anything to possess items they see would give them power. I mean why not spend your time running around the globe retrieving these items for a hefty fee? With the fact that Jake has cancer and it’s only a matter of time well what else are you going to do, wait for death and go out doing something.
This issue opens up with the team mid-op and we get a good look at what kind of mutation happened to the Beefeaters in London who guard the crown Jewels, yes the infamous Tower of London. It is a great start for those who are going to be new to this franchise. We get to see Jake and his team in action, we see how the mutation affected these folks and we get introduced to another group of people as well. So essentially it fleshes out Jake’s world with eye catching aplomb and ensures that you want to keep going.
Also I really am a huge fan of Scott’s and if you aren’t familiar with him, shame on you, you should check his other work with Red 5 because he’s rather talented. The way that the story is being told is sensational and the overall ebb & flow of how we see events unfold shows off how the structuring is done. The plot for this one is easy heh well in theory but then again if anything in life were easy everyone would be doing what they love and there’d be no strife. So welcome to Jake’s world hope you survive your stay.
I am a fan of the interiors here as they really are right up my alley as it were. The linework is tight and it has a great deal of attention to detail thanks to the way that the varying weights are being utilised here. There is something special about it and with Sean putting the colouring down we get these tones, shades and hues that just bring everything to life beautifully. Seriously the gradation, the light sources and the enhancement of the linework through how colour is applied feels like a master class in comics illustration. The way panels are constructed and the fact that most have these backgrounds in them and they highlight where they are and what’s happening couldn’t have been done better, well unless you count every panel having backgrounds. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a stellar eye for storytelling.
There are times when you find something that is a mash-up and that has those familiar elements to it that so noticeable but when you are in the midst of it you just don’t care. This is fun, funny and fantastical in the way the world looks today. This could be a video game as easily as it is a comic book. Welcome to an exciting series of arcs that brings the daring adventures of Jake and his team in a world literally gone mad! I hope you have as much fun as I am having.
