The Fiction has such beauty to it. The way each panel flows together is quite creative. In the very beginning, we see Kassie falling through the sky and although words can flow together so easily, with the stiffness of non-moving pictures, it can be hard to emulate this flow with pictures. But somehow David Rubin and Michael Garland do just that. The art creates movement within the storyline, so your eyes are just satisfied as your reading. The colors are rich to give everything that extra shove. I love playing with fantasy because then the colors can really come alive. Garland creates this dream world with such passion and then when we bounce back to reality, the colors are dull and uninviting. So the colors create a story alone. It is awesome. Just look at the cover art. Like seriously dude, it explodes off of the page. If that doesn’t intrigue your eyes, I don’t know what will. After only three issue, you can see a common theme happening in all three issues. We jump from time period to time period. Honestly we don’t know much about these characters. We know more plot based situations but what happen to this characters through the years after Tsang went missing is all being unfolded slowly through flashbacks. No issue has given more background than this one! I have to say that it isn’t a surprise what happens. It is sort of what I expected from Kassie’s story. And as far as what happened to Tsang, again it isn’t a big surprise. But don’t take that as a cue not to read this issue. The comic doesn’t spend a lot of time explaining the past, because I think he knows that it isn’t a big surprise. What Pires does spend a lot of time on is telling a story much larger than these people. You get small hints about it, like the parents of these kids being suspicious, but Pires gives us the most hints yet. I’m not exactly sure what it all means, but I am interested in it.
What I am coming to realize about Curt Pires is that his writing has a good revealing yet secretive balance. Some writers give everything away, others make it too complicated, but Pires gives the reader exactly what they need to stay hooked and stay wondering. After issues one and two, I wasn’t sure where everything was going. Throwing this issue out as number three couldn’t have been more perfect. It makes more sense and it even makes me want to reread the last couple of issues to put more clues together.
In conclusion, I have no complaints about this newest issue. The art is gorgeous and the writing is unfolding smoothly. The way that both of these work together shows that this comic has a clear understanding of where it is going now. I look forward to seeing how Kassie, and her gang take on this dream world and the purpose behind it all.
Score: 4/5
The Fiction #3 Writer: Curt Pires Artist: David Rubin Colorist: Michael Garland Publisher: BOOM! Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/19/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital