- World of Noise #1
- Markosia
- Written by Stu Perrins
- Illustrated by Ron Gravelle
- Available now through
Daughter Number Nine is on the run—pursued by the cops, hunted by her own creator, and shadowed by the planet’s lone surviving superhero. She’s a clone, but of whom?
With my first look at the cover art for World of Noise, and throughout the issue kindly provided to me by writer Stu Perrins, my brain repeatedly went to the groundbreaking TV show, The Prisoner (1967). Legendary for its surreal setting & tone, it was a show that could only have come out of the tripping ‘60s. This new title from publisher Markosia may not have that level of notoriety, but that shouldn’t get in the way of readers diving into its retro story and having a good time.
Perrins seems to be pulling from sources across the comic spectrum. Not stopping at The Prisoner (be interested in finding out if it was an inspiration to some degree), he’s created a fast-paced read steeped in classic black & white sci-fi magazines like The Rook and 1984 (both from Warren Publishing, 1977 & 1978 respectively). The comparison to those pulpy sci-fi magazines is driven home by Perrins’s heavy use of narrative text… And at first that was a bit of a drag, but it all fell into place once I caught on to what was happening. The dialogue, the action… and oh my stars and garters, the character designs… were all perfectly over-the-top and almost perfectly pulled straight out of the 1970s.
Case in point, I give you… Dr. Deathless.
The illustration keeps pace with the script, a feat for which Ron Gravelle should get a medal. His effort is a part of what makes World of Noise work as Perrins sets the pace and Gravelle takes the baton. In black-and-white comics, there’s a fine line between not enough detail and way too much, a line Gravelle seems to walk with ease (Ron, we know it’s not easy, so salute). There’s also a sense of photo-realism in his figures, which might be odd considering we’re talking about cloned assassins, immortal heroes, and killer robot enforcers. But he makes it work, even (or maybe especially) in the panels where the reference material doesn’t quite match up with the action. It’s those minor glitches that gave me total Wayback Machine feels, deep down in my old bones.
Comics like World of Noise may not be for everyone, but they are for me. I’ll be happily checking out the future issues of this limited-run series, and if you’re a reader who enjoys their sci-fi action on the pulpy side, you might wanna get in on this. The first issue was a good time and got my attention.
Final Score: 10/11
