Brand New: MIDNIGHT TIGER # 1 REVIEW

MIDNIGHT TIGER # 1
Written by Ray-Anthony Height & DeWayne Feenstra
Art by Ray-Anthony Height & Paul John Little
Action Lab Entertainment

This will be a spoiler free review.

                Our new book opens with a homeless man … with powers of manipulating fire attacking people in a bar. We got to our main hero, who was stops a somewhat familiar family from being robbed then does his homework.
                A school confrontation seems to hit Gavin personally … as well as have connections to a mysterious gangsta named P- Stone.


ART:

                Height creates one of the most visually appealing and detailed works in his career. There is a great amount of detail and variety of characters. Backgrounds are also filled in nicely, not skimping on them. Gavin’s got a great look for a young teen and a hero that is believable and striking.  Little helps breath a lot of life and color into Height’s work as they knock it out of the park with this first issue visually. We see different angles, different perspectives and great movements with the action.  Just the uses of side angles and over the shoulder perspectives were really entertaining this issue.  There is a richness in the line work and coloring as they do a great job with the light source and color of this book … particularly during the mugging/battle. I really enjoyed it and found it extremely well done. 

WRITING:

                Height and Feenstra jump us into some action while also developing Gavin as a character and his world in one swift shot. We get a quick retelling of his origin (which was done in the FCBD issue) while blasting off into the present with Gavin had taken time to become Midnight Tiger. While he’s fairly new, you can see that he’s had some experience with this by now and Feenstra and Height display that. Gavin comes off really believable and multi-faceted right away as we see him butt heads with a “friend”, deal with his father and his over all beliefs compared to those he cares about around him. Our hero is a good guy but definitely flawed … in a good way. I applaud the writers for doing that right off the back … allowing readers to relate to the character and feel more invested.  And while we got some great world building, Height and Feenstra did enough to really leave some open plots for upcoming issues of the series. The current main plot is already hitting close to home for Gavin and our writers make sure you are in. Plus, what we see of Gavin’s inner circle seems to be interesting right off the bat as we have him disagreeing with not only his father, but with some friends as well. It is definitely a different direction from many other super hero solo titles where the friends seem to be fully behind our hero while parent (s) is not. Great, solid writing that makes me want more. 

FINAL VERDICT:

                The art was amazing. The story was superb. The characters are interesting and varied. And there are some great Easter Eggs for comic books fans in the issue that just make you smile. I am all in on this book. I give Midnight Tiger # 1 a solid 5 … out of 5. 

FCBD Review: SKYWARD/MIDNIGHT TIGER

FCBD: SKYWARD/ MIDNIGHT TIGER
Skyward Story:

 Written by Jeremy Dale
Art by Jeremy Dale, James Rochelle & Hoyt Silva

Midnight Tiger Story:

Written by Ray-Anthony Height & Dewayne Feenstra
Arty by Ray-Anthony Height & Paul Little
Action Labs Entertainment

                Since today is Free Comic Book Day, I was able to get some great FCBD issues. Now, I am gonna just break these down a little different from the normal review because … well, they are special issues that give you a taste.  So, let us begin.

SKYWARD – Dale does some build up to his next story by giving us some history that connects both the Berserkers and Quinn to what will be coming next in the series. We get a bring history as one of the tribe leaders is about to pass away.

MIDNIGHT TIGER –We meet our hero, Gavin, just before he becomes Midnight Tiger. It ends up being an origin story about a teen who enjoys the world’s heroes but still not blind to the everyday struggles of life.

THE WRITING :

                Jeremy Dale brings his A-game as always with Skyward. The legend on how the Berserkers were split into four tribes was gripping and believable. And the narration on how this story was told was powerfully done by Dale.   The plot was good and it was great set up. And while no one really knows Quinn, Dale peaks your interests. And for those fans of Skyward already, you get a glimpse to the past of Quinn’s father.

                The Midnight Tiger side of things really gives a strong ending. We meet our main protagonist, Gavin, who is a hero fanboy.  Yet, for the first time since the first volume of New Warriors back in Marvel (at least with what I read), Height and Feenstra deliver a social conscious hero that remembers that there is more to the world than fighting super villains. That there is still crime on the streets and what are these heroes doing about it.  The dialogue is very authentic and relatable. Height and Feenstra pack action, social consciousness, drama and an origin all in one small story.

                

THE ART:
                Dale’s art is stellar with detailed lines and a great fusion between old school comic artists like Ron Frenz with some modern day sensibilities to make the art style all its own. With Rochelle’s colors and Silva’s color flats, we got a beautifully rendered story.

Height’s art will not be denied. The lines are nice and clean with great shading by Little. Height does good with giving us detail backgrounds and characters … as well as several homages to other more “known” heroes throughout the title. Yet, Height really shows off what he can do and Little just brings it all to life with his colors. A great origin story.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

                We got a strong start with a legend told to us by a dying tribe leader. And then we got an origin story of a young hero that already knows there is more to life than fighting super villains. I REALLY enjoyed this issue.   Skyward’s story was good and Midnight Tiger’s was great. I am glad they put these two together for this.

                I give SKYWARD/MIDNIGHT TIGER FCBD ISSUE a whoppin’ 10 …. Out of 10. If you did not get it, RUN to you comic book story right now.