Middlewest #1 (Review) Young Delivers Another Hit

MIDDLEWEST #1

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist: Jorge Corona

Publisher: Image Comics

8/10

This isn't the type of book you would expect from Skottie Young, but maybe that's what makes it special.

While most of Young's past work has been filled with humor, craziness, and mind-blowing action, this story is much more serious in tone. You can tell how personal of a story this is to Young

The story centers around a young boy named Abel, who from the get go clearly doesn't have the easiest life. His dad is kind of an asshole and constantly hassling

him. There's a sadness in Abel's eyes that instantly connects the reader to him. As Young has said in interviews, there is going to be a 'fantasy' element to the story. We get a little taste of that with Abel's talking fox and of course with the giant wind monster that terrorizes our young hero. Abel's journey is something I'm definitely looking forward to seeing.

This book grabbed me from that beautifully illustrated opening page by Jorge Corona. The world that Young and Corona have built is a sight to behold, it's haunting , yet warm and familiar. Corona's art suits this story perfectly. Young has said that the series was intended to pay homage to films like The Dark Crystal, The

NeverEnding Story, and the collective films of Don Bluth. All of which have clearly left a mark on Young. While Young's art is amazing, it was a wise choice to have Corona on art duties. His art has a grittiness that gives a depth and weight to the story

I don't know if having so much information about the series prior to reading it helped or hurt the experience. I was expecting a little more fantasy elements, which I'm sure we'll see more of, but this was still a killer debut issue. While this issue wasn't perfect, it is definitely something I would recommend and I look forward to seeing what these guys have in store for us.