Posted in: Comics, Image, Review | Tagged: crime, gasolina, image comics, mat lopes, niko walter, sci-fi, Sean Mackiewicz, skybound entertainment

Gasolina #8 First Impression Review: Uniting Against the Narcos

This review is the first of a slight pivot in presentation of some of my content. "First Impression Reviews" will be for comics that have been going on for five or more issues, and this is my first experience with the story.

Sylvia and her men try to approach Amalia's house, but the woman responds with a hail of gunfire. After a tense standoff, Sylvia manages to get close enough to talk to Amalia. Sylvia wants Amalia and her boyfriend to join their militia and defend their land from the Narcos and whatever else has been happening in the area recently.

This is my first experience with Gasolina, and it made quite the first impression. The premise of a group of people in Mexico setting up their own militia to deal with the drug cartels is an enticing idea for a comic.

At least, that's the central idea to this issue. The cover and some of the dialogue and scenes imply a supernatural element that simply didn't show up very much in this installment. Consequently, I can't speak to how well that fits into the narrative, but I'm generally cool with things that go bump in the night.

The dialogue and drama between Sylvia and Amalia is quite good too. There is a lot of tension between these two figures. Given that this is my first experience with the book, I'm not sure what the core of the tension is. However, it keeps things weighty and interesting as they interact. They're both solid characters.

Niko Walter's artwork is stylistic and appealing, and the figures of the characters seem more realistic than the average muscles and thin bodies that even non-superhero comics often use. There is arguably an overreliance on shadowing, but it does add a nice atmosphere to the comic throughout most of the runtime. Mat Lopes' color work is also quite good and adds a sleekness to the visuals.

Gasolina #8 left a solid first impression for me. The story and characters seem interesting, and I would definitely be interested in returning for another installment. With a unique narrative and solid artwork, I can recommend this one, even as a jumping-on point for new readers. Check it out.

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