Is It Good? Revival #13 Review

Unlike a lot of other fans and reviewers out there, I think Revival hits a bit more home to me than others, simply for the fact that this series takes place in my neck of the woods, central Wisconsin. I recognize most of the locations (even if the names are changed a couple of times) and the cultural aspects, knowing full well that the writer has really captured my (his own) hometown. However, despite the accuracy of that the title gets in regards to geography, is it good?

Revival #13 (Image Comics)

It’s Valentine’s Day and Officer Dana Cypress is going on an oddball triple date with Ibrahaim Ramin, the C.D.C. liaison, and other colorful individuals. Meanwhile, in parts of town, we see a bunch of other characters and storylines going on. Like with Joe Myers, one of the Revivers, who has been feeling completely confused and baffled since coming back and having his ring stolen. Or there is May Tao, who is trying to find out what happened to the Check Brothers.

Though…we already know what happened to them.

Revival is an odd sort of comic, not one I’m really used to in how it presents its story. It feels like a TV drama in a way, with how the story unfolds and moves. There are several different storylines going on, with lots of characters being introduced or developed, but we are only given a chunk of it all every issue. It moves slowly in its pacing and progression, but there is enough going on so it doesn’t feel completely slow and keeps you interested, wanting to tune in next week (or in this case, next month) to see where it goes.

Though this moment in particular calls for a cheesy laugh track.

Besides the plotting and storytelling, the characters feel real and dialogue feels natural in a way (well, most of the time at least). It feels like they all have personalities, interests, concerns, and emotions. The best example of this is the entire date scene with how everyone interacts and talks with one another. Besides looking different, they act differently and talk with each other differently. They don’t feel like the same person like in other stories and that’s probably the biggest strength of the entire series: the characters themselves.

8.0

• The characters are fully developed and engaging.
• The story elements are intriguing.
• The artwork is nice looking.

• Rather slow and not exciting as previous issues.
• Some storylines don’t seem to be moving quickly enough.

The artwork by Mike Norton is very good as well. His character stuff is very strong with how he makes everyone look, move, and show emotion. He also draws some rather good creepy images and some interesting scenes, like this odd flashback that occurs in the middle of the issue. The rest of his work and other art, like the coloring to the backgrounds, are just fine. It isn’t stuff that’ll shock or amaze you, but its art that fits in perfectly fine with what the story is.

Is It Good?

The issue was certainly enjoyable. The character stuff is very strong in every way, the storylines are interesting enough to keep you around, and the artwork is certainly good. While the pacing and sometimes lack of much being progressed story wise may hurt the book, I would still wholeheartedly recommend it.