Gideon Falls Review

Gideon Falls #1

Image Comics Writer Jeff Lemire, Artist Andrea Sorrentino, Colorist Dave Stewart

Tomorrow is the day that we finally get to see the long-awaited reunion of the Green Arrow team doing their own series this time and its been well worth the wait. I was lucky enough to get an advance digital copy for review from Lemire and have read it a few times over the past few weeks to let it all sink in. When I see Lemire’s name on a comic you pretty much sold me on it but there have been a few of his projects that didn’t quite love from him too.

For me there was a lot riding on this book because I really loved their Green Arrow run that was sadly cut short by DC and didn’t have the chance to have a proper or wholly satisfying ending and that was a real shame.

There is a lot to take in on this first issue and you’re not quite sure of what to make of a lot of it but that’s OK because Lemire holds the cards close to his vest but does set things up nicely though. While you may be a little off-balance at first he never goes too far out with the story but leaves a lot of mystery to be solved as it goes along. He tackles a touchy subject with religion, mental illness and ghost but Lemire has a way of avoiding the story of any controversy and has simply created a great mystery comic that really hits the ground running in this first issue.

Some might compare it to other comics such as Preacher and Outcast but I didn’t find that to be true at all. Lemire’s script really goes deep here and those minor similar story elements that are on the surface are important but there is a much deeper elements here to discover.

Sorrentino is the perfect artist for this book and gives it both the human elements and darker ones into a perfect balance. There is a number of times in this first issue where there is no dialog and this is why Lemire picked him to do this book. You need a strong artist to bring this type of story to life and Sorrentino pulls it off with such ease and skill that makes this comic a read visual feast. His gritty style also gives the book a great tactile look and feel that gives you a great unnerving feeling that is why this book gets off to a great start. Luckily for Lemire and Sorrentino they were able to get Stewart to do the color work on the book and I can’t imagine any one else that could have pull the colors off as he can. He is very careful to complement Sorrentoino’s line work because the book drips with mood Steward carefully uses the colors that do not overpower the art and uses it wisely in every panel.

Is this book worth your time and money. While I’m not a fan of reading comics digitally, I made a great exception on this book. Lemier, Sorrentoino and Stewart have crafted a nifty little mystery comic here and lays some great groundwork for the story arc. There are more questions than answers in this first issue but there is more than enough to get you excited to see where they take this story. This book was well worth the wait for Lemire and Sorrentoino to get back together for and is VERY RECOMMENDED!