Writers: Bradley Golden and George Aguilar
Artist: Alex Sarabia
Rating: 6 of 8
Note: This is an advance review of Leave on the Light #1. I received a digital copy from writer Bradley Golden to review.
Leave on the Light #1
There are a number of ways to approach a story about crime. You could focus on how it affects the victim, or their families, like Broadchurch, which teemed with emotional intensity partly thanks to that focus. Alternatively, the central focus could be on the criminal themselves, instead of the victim, which can help add dimension to them This was done wonderfully in Breaking Bad, making you as invested in the criminal as the one trying to catch them.
Leave on the Light focuses on Detective Gary Marshall, who's both victim and pursuer. He's after someone who killed a mother and daughter in a way he finds eerily similar to a child killer. But since they were executed, he's hellbent on figuring out what's going on. Marshall himself is familiar with loss, as he lost his younger brother to cancer, which could go some way to explaining his gruff demeanour.
When it comes to the visuals, there are some standouts on display. One of these are the deep black of the clouds, as Officer McKinney races toward a lead in the case. The yellow at the top almost makes it feel like a supernatural presence, which could have be linked to the killer and the yellow streaks as they edged towards their first victim. Later, we see Marshall's face, mostly hidden by shadow, our main focus on his steely, unmoving eyes. It's a particularly striking image.
Overall, it's a mostly good issue, with a nice, hard boiled detective feel to Marshall. There're some very noteworthy visuals and there's a good, dark, mysterious atmosphere to it in writing and art. Though I feel the font size for Marshall's thoughts could be a bit larger and I feel the issue could've held off on showing the killer a bit longer early on. This could've increased the suspense and shock. I also feel it might be a bit better if they weren't shown in full, to increase the mystery and sense of dread.
Leave on the Light focuses on Detective Gary Marshall, who's both victim and pursuer. He's after someone who killed a mother and daughter in a way he finds eerily similar to a child killer. But since they were executed, he's hellbent on figuring out what's going on. Marshall himself is familiar with loss, as he lost his younger brother to cancer, which could go some way to explaining his gruff demeanour.
When it comes to the visuals, there are some standouts on display. One of these are the deep black of the clouds, as Officer McKinney races toward a lead in the case. The yellow at the top almost makes it feel like a supernatural presence, which could have be linked to the killer and the yellow streaks as they edged towards their first victim. Later, we see Marshall's face, mostly hidden by shadow, our main focus on his steely, unmoving eyes. It's a particularly striking image.
Overall, it's a mostly good issue, with a nice, hard boiled detective feel to Marshall. There're some very noteworthy visuals and there's a good, dark, mysterious atmosphere to it in writing and art. Though I feel the font size for Marshall's thoughts could be a bit larger and I feel the issue could've held off on showing the killer a bit longer early on. This could've increased the suspense and shock. I also feel it might be a bit better if they weren't shown in full, to increase the mystery and sense of dread.
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