Late next month, Maverick comics, a division of Mad Cave Studios, will release the second volume of its new series, Scoop to comic shops nationwide. The 57-page offering is just as certain to engage and entertain its key teen female readers as it is fans of mysteries and science fiction. That is proven in part through its story, which spans that nearly 60-page run. This will be discussed shortly. The transitions therein serve well to help make the story so engaging and entertaining. To that end they will be addressed a little later. The artwork presented throughout the story puts the finishing touch to the whole and will also be examined a little later. Each item noted is key in its own way to the whole of Scoop: Volume Two. All things considered they make this latest outing from the fledgling title an interesting new read for a wide range of audiences.
Scoop: Volume Two, the second “chapter” of Maverick Comics’ new series, is a presentation that a wide range of audiences will find appealing. Its appeal comes in large part through its featured story. Spanning nearly 60-pages, the story finds its young heroine, Sophie Cooper, investigating a new case after having cleared her father’s name in his own problems in the series’ previous volume. This time, she has been enlisted to find the true killer of celebrity chef D.L. Bludsoe’s second wife. Sophie does manage to find the killer, and the killer’s identity turns out to be quite the surprise. No worries, that person’s identity will not be revealed here. Along the course of her investigation, Sophie also has to navigate her internship at news station WMIA7 in Miami. That story actually ties directly into her investigation, too. Her investigation involves the aid of alligator people (yes, alligator people) a scientist and one of WMIA’s staff among others. The whole thing blends influences, clearly, from the likes of Veronica Mars, The X-Files, and toa a slightly lesser degree, Supernatural, all while maintaining its own identity. Given, it is not necessarily the perfect jumping on point for this new series. Audiences would do well to start off with the series’ lead issue since the story’s end does in fact reach back to that issue. At the same time, the issue’s story is something of a standalone in its own right. Keeping all of this in mind, writer Richard Ashley Hamilton (who has also worked on Dreamworks’ How To Train Your Dragon franchise and who has created titles for other comic book companies, such as Papercutz, Dark Horse, and Insight) is to be applauded for his craftsmanship here. His ability to ties together all of the story’s elements (even the romance aspects without letting them overpower the bigger story) is impressive.
As a matter of fact, the story itself is just part of what makes the story impressive. The transitions that he uses, as simple as they are, go a long way toward ensuring readers are able to keep track of things. Believe it or not there are writers out there whose stories lack this simple element and it hurts their work. In the case of Hamilton’s latest presentation, the transitions in question are simple markers that lay out the time and place of each scene. The markers are placed typically in an upper corner of given cells to let readers know the story has reached a new moment. Especially considering many pages tell the story through dual columns on some pages, those simple points are especially important in the bigger picture of the story. It lets readers know whether to read top to bottom or side-to-side on those pages, which abound through the story. Keeping all of this in mind, the transitions throughout the story are clear and in turn do just as much to keep readers engaged and entertained as the story itself.
The artwork that is presented throughout the story puts the finishing touch to the whole. The team of Pablo Andres, Simon Robins and Dave Lanphear crafted art that makes for its own appealing presentation. At one point as Sophie is facing the Mangrove Man, Andres’ work is, stylistically similar to that of artist Leomacs (a.k.a. Massimiliano Leonardo) who has handled the art work for Boom! Studios’ series, Ghostlore. At others, there is a little bit of stylistic similarity to some of the work from the Archie Horrors comic series. At others till there are other unique touches. The whole gives the overall such an interesting overall presentation.
When his work is paired with the general coloring and the lettering handled by his cohorts – Robins and Lanphear – the overall visual presentation contained herein establishes its identity even more. Keeping this in mind, the overall artwork succeeds in entertaining readers just as much as the story and its transitions. All things considered the collective whole makes Scoop: Volume Two a fully immersive offering from Maverick that its target teen readers will enjoy from beginning to end.
Scoop: Volume Two, the latest entry in Maverick Comics’ new series, is a successful new offering in the series’ still young run. The book’s success comes in part through its featured story, which follows’ main character Sophie’s investigation of a murder. Her investigation leads her in unexpected directions and the result is just as unexpected. It blends influences from some far more well-known properties to make its own identity that will appeal easily to readers. The transitions used throughout the story add to its interest because of their simplicity and clarity. The issue’s artwork and lettering combine to make for just as much appeal for readers. All things considered they make the book an overall success in each way and a title that will appeal just as much to grown-ups as to its targeted teen audiences.
Scoop: Volume Two is scheduled for release Sept. 10. More information on this and other titles from Maverick is available eat:
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