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‘Black Hammer: Visions #8’ – Advance Comic Book Review

About halfway into this series, a pivotal moment occurred, and I involuntarily cackled and proclaimed, “That’s fucking cool!” Cause it was!

Visions has been jumping around, allowing teams consisting of some of the best creators in the comic industry to add their voices to Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s Black Hammer universe, and we’ve gotten some real gems. This is another stellar pairing: Scott Snyder and David Rubín.

Every page of this book was unexpected, introducing us to a new character in the Black Hammer universe, and although he’s pictured on the cover, I’m not telling you who he is, because 80% of the joy is finding out how the two stories in this book weave together.  One story takes place in a nursing home in 1955 and the other sometime in the 1880s.

Rubín’s art is just mesmerizing. His previous work on Ether both broke my heart and transfixed me. Here, he does it again. His color choices are unique and emotionally resonant, and because he even the lettering, the layouts of the page pack an emotional oomph that maybe wouldn’t otherwise be there. He’s a genuine genius as far as I’m concerned.

What can be said about Scott Snyder except that he’s a fantastic storyteller. The great thing here is that, step by step, I had no idea what was going to happen next. In one issue, he took me on a journey that could fill a two-hour movie.

Like a lot of Black Hammer, the focus of the story revolves around some kind of family machinations, but it has a different feel: not one of yearning or loss, but one of mystery and an odd kind of resolve or even redemption.  

If you’re not reading anything in the Black Hammer universe, you should be, but even if you aren’t, you can still read Visions. These standalone stories are some of the best one-shots in the comic industry right now. I want more of this character.

Creative Team: Scott Snyder (script), David Rubín (art, colors, letters), Xulia Pison (flats), Daniel Chabon (editor), Chuck Howitt, Konner Knudson (assistant editors), Ethan Kimberling (design), Josie Christensen (digital art technician)
Publisher: Dark Horse
Click here to purchase.

Phillip Kelly, Fanbase Press Contributor

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