Joe Kelly (Deadpool, Elephantmen) and Max Fiumara’s (Deadpool, The Punisher) Four Eyes: Hearts of Fire is immediately sumptuous. Every panel is striking; from the words spoken to the coloring, a world is created here that is hypnotic and poetic. That alone makes it riveting, but this follow up to their first Four Eyes run from 2008 (which I haven’t read) also comes to life as one of the most intriguing ideas I’ve seen in a while.

1934 Chicago. The stock markets crash, the World Fair is drawing crowds, and a young boy named Enrico wants to train his four-eyed dragon to fight. What makes this doubly intriguing is the effort Kelly and Fiumara take to bring the ’30s to life in a way that allows the fantastical elements to feel like a natural part of our history. Fiumara creates an inspired look that feels like it could have been drawn in the ’30s German Expressionism. The long faces and exaggerated features along with the monochromatic shades of copper and light blue are so incredibly beautiful that each panel could very easily become a print that I’d put on my wall. Kelly takes us from the city, to the farms, to underground dragon training facilities – and with each step that’s taken into this world, the more intriguing it becomes.

I’m keeping this one short because I don’t want to say more until the story progresses a little, but it’s off to a pretty excellent start.