Review: Actionverse #4 Featuring Stray
Stray finally finds Anya Riddick (Ingénue) in New York City. She was hiding in the ruins of Hoosen academy. This is where Teanaegis came to life. But she’s not alone, with her are some aliens who’ve never been seen on earth before. Stray may not have it easy this time.
The Creative Team:
Vito Delsante brings us into the thick of a New York riot. We’re told that an innocent boy, Malik Hardaway, was killed by a New York cop. Just a few days later said cop was found dead in that boy’s neighborhood, but what killed them was not from this earth! Delsante wastes no time bringing our hero to the fight, he even has
Ingénue tell our hero that she’s not going to waste time with exposition, nice touch that. He has Stray take on aliens that are stronger and faster than he is. So what does he have going for him? The fact that he knows New York a lot better than they do. So he uses that to his advantage. I love how Stray thinks in the heat of battle. It’s great stuff.
Ares Tavares gives us some fine work in this issue. The aliens in question resemble gray versions of Marvel’s Skrulls with a little Kree thrown in for good measure. And this is a good thing. His use of angles is unique and fits the action and story well. Great Action Lab style art and his renderings are good on detail. I really enjoyed his pages and the story.
In Conclusion:
This team isn’t afraid to inject a little realism into it’s fantasy. We are constantly bombarded with the death of young kids at the hands of cops. It’s a controversial issue in today’s media and a tricky situation to deal with. Was the cop justified in his use of force? Can we trust what the media says in these areas? We come to find out that there’s more to Malik’s death, and his person than meets the eye. It turns out that he’s something that he can’t possibly be as our heroes question the boys mother about his background. There’s a lot going on in this issue and includes cross over cameos from other comic book companies as the tension mounts and the threat of violence overcomes…To be continued! ***1/2 (8.6 rating)
Actionverse #4 Featuring Stray
Writer – Vito Delsante
Art – Ares Tavares
Colors – Wilson Ramos Jr.
Letters – Full Court Press
Publisher – Action Lab
Publication Date – December 2017
About the Author
Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.
