This also has a map.
“But people love good myths.”
High Levels by Rob Sheridan, Barnaby Bagenda, Amankai Naerpan, Omar Francia, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Branbot’s Nate Piecos are apocalyptic tales of smuggler/scavengers who serve as quests to end all words for the type of child of the chosen person. At least that’s what we’ve been told. From there it becomes much more troublesome.
The world of Rob Sheridan and Barnaby Bagenda’s craft lobbed is familiar yet new. It looks like a kind of West and North Canada, ravaged by war and something, but what happened is never really defined. It’s like a fallout from Fallout and an endless war. I borrow ideas from things like Mad Max and Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, and from other reference points that feel like they give a twist, but that does so in their own way. It has a quest structure similar to Pinocchio and Pinocchio, and works through some social commentary and dark humor that bites.
The overall art is gorgeous. Barnaby Bagenda is designed to mix futuristic technology with a disintegration like the simple collapse of the world after a social break. And what may be the remnants of nuclear war? His style is somewhat reminiscent of art influenced by the angular cartoons of people like Hambert Ramos and Joe Madureira, but not so exaggerated. Amancay Nahuelpan and Omar Francia ride two problems (3 & 4 and 5 & 6 respectively) alongside Bagenda. There are significant stylistic changes in both sections. Nielpan looks at the clearer lines and details, Francia is a bit blocked and not detailed, but if I can tell you which page was with Bagenda, I’ll care.
Part of the visual continuity definitely falls on the colour of Romulo Fajardo Jr. The color palette combines rusticity with cyberpunk, and fits perfectly into the setting and is done in a kind of watercolor application. On top of that is an interesting dialog box integration by Nate Piecos, giving the story a bit of a technofaley story.
“Faith is drug hell, and fear is preacher hell.”
Of all of the last waves of high-level pre-descent dizziness books by Sheridan, Baggenda, Nafrupan, Francia, Romulo and Piecos, it may be the most frustrating. Not for the story, the setting, the art, or anything like that, but for all of them, it is most obviously just a part of the story. Like Goddess mode, it sets a fairly complex and thoughtful new world. It is clear that, like the American massacre, this is just the first stage, like the hexagonal wife, but unlike any other stage, it is not truly complete. We’re just setting the stage from now on.
And sadly, there was nothing more. If that is possible, I don’t know where I have the right to do more. It’s a great post-post apocalyptic story, with a gorgeous artwork throughout, persuasive characters, and an interesting world where we only get the shortest taste.
Classic comics big summary: high level
High level
Author: Rob Sheridan
Artists: Barnaby Bagenda, Amancay Nahuelpan, and Omar Francia
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letter: Branbot’s Nate Piecos
Publisher: DC Comics – Vertigo
Release date: February 20th – September 18th, 2019
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