The previous issue of Rise made it shoot way back up on my list. This was an early favorite of mine from the Double Taken line, but it dipped quickly. Issue four explained a lot of what was going on in the universe and left on a hell of a cliffhanger.
Like I mentioned in my review for Dedication #5, the fifth issues all come across as jumping on points for new readers. I had major déjà vu while reading them because they really do read like a first issue for the most part. Rise is a little different in how it does this because it actually backtracks a lot from the last issue. I was fine with this because there’s been questions that needed answers and some I didn’t even think to ask.
In this issue, we actually find out more about Amy who, if you were paying attention, infected Johnny, but we never saw when she was infected. Well this issue answers that question and plugs in other puzzle pieces as well. What made it special and visually interesting was the use of the Golden Spiral. It was absolutely perfect for what the story was doing and showing the reader. Basically a spot on visual metaphor. There was another interesting cliffhanger to this issue. It felt like a bit of rehash, but after reading this issue it’s pretty clear that we’ll see the outcome in the next issue for sure.
There is a bit with the President again that I didn’t particular care for. I read it to read it, but it didn’t feel as important to the story as I would have liked. It’s almost as if it’s attempting to build the setting of the era or allude to events that are coming? We’ll see, but it felt like a weaker scene that didn’t support the story.
A few of the titles have standout characters or at the very least characters important to the universe, but Rise is one of the only titles that has three standout and important characters. This is Johnny, Barbara and Amy’s book. We continue to get to know them better and better as the series goes along, which makes it pretty unique compared to the rest of the Double Take titles.
The art was enjoyable. It’s not super consistent, but it’s done in such a way that it’s not terribly noticeable when it switches. For instance, the part with the President has a lot more detail and photorealism than the rest of the issue. There was a return to the style in the first issue though and I really liked that because it had the best art of any of the previous issues.
Rise continues to be one of the most important books in the shared universe because of the info it subtly gives you as a reader. There’s a handful of books that give you info on the aliens, on the zombies from the human’s perspective and then a handful like Rise that present it from the zombie’s side of things. It keeps it from all being redundant, but then also a very creative way to piece together all of the information. I, for one, will be back to read more about our trio, you know… if they survive the day and all.
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Rise #5
Story: Bill Jemas, Stan Chou, Michael Coast
Script: Bill Jemas, Michael Coast, Elysia Liang, Jeff McComsey
Layouts: Stan Chou, Benjamin Silberstein
Pencils: Federica manfredi, Adriano Vicente, Claudia Balboni
Publisher: Double Take Comics
Price: $2.99
Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital
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