Elemental Balance #1 Review

Note: I received a digital copy from writer Zain Shenwari to review.

Writer: Zain Shenwari

Artist: Luke Horsman

Rating: 6 of 8

Elemental Balance #1

Whenever I'm writing these reviews, I try my best to open them with something that hooks you in and grabs you. This is very important in storytelling. If you don't hook the reader in early on, why should they keep reading? Shenwari succeeds at this wonderfully, with opening lines that made me sure I was going to like this.

In Elemental Balance, Chloe is besieged by mysterious nightmares. In one, she finds herself in Nairobi, Kenya, running from a mudslide and it's here that we're treated to one of the most memorable images of the issue, where we get a close up of Chloe's eye as she's swallowed by the earth. The next morning, she's shocked to learn her dream has come true, so sets off to Kenya in search of answers.

There we learn Chloe has an incredible ability, which is shown in a very exciting sequence later on - and she might not be the only one... One of my criticisms of the issue is that at times the art can be a bit disappointing. Sometimes I feel Chloe's expressions don't match what she's saying and that some of the character's faces could be drawn a little better. I also get the sense that there's some unseen history between Vijay and Chloe, which could explain why she feels so guilty later on. So ultimately, it's a mixed issue, with some very exciting moments, some intriguing, while other parts could be improved.