Writer: Si Spurrier / Artist: Matias Bergara / Colorist: Matheus Lopes / Image
The comic book experiment that is Step By Bloody Step continues on, and the latest addition of the story holds fast to the expectations set in the first book. This is a story that is being predominantly communicated through its wonderful illustrations about a child and her gargantuan guardian navigating an alien world. There is no exposition and what little dialog that comes up is in a bizarre alien script that is all but inscrutable, if not for the vivid facial expressions.
At the tail end of last issue, the duo mounted what can be best described as an alarmingly large bird like creature and as such, the duo traveled an untold distance. In Step by Bloody Step #2, they find themselves in a new land. It’s a harrowed landscape, that by all appearance seems to be in the midst of an active conflict, and the duo is just minding their own business and doing their own.
By their nature, comics are a visual medium first. The artistry of the book does a significant amount of the heavy lifting and much like dialog should make sense without tags. By that, comic pages should make sense with dialog and Step By Bloody Step works brilliantly. Spurrier’s narrative is conveyed perfectly and even though we don’t know the exact specifics, the broad strokes of the plot are given to us in such a way that we can understand the emotions of the different actors. From there, we slowly begin to discern the more sinister plot, and then we can also get super sweet moments juxtaposed against subtly violent acts that constantly keep us in a state of curiosity.
Bergara and Lopes do such a phenomenal job conveying the different biomes and states of mind of the different characters. Without any discernable dialog to distract, we get to relish in the beautiful details and make our own conjectures about Spurrier’s grand plot.
It’s a surreal experience to be sure, but one that I’m utterly enthralled in. While I don’t think I want every comic to go this route, Step by Bloody Step is a breath of fresh air that plays with the medium in an exciting ways, and I can’t wait for the next issue.
9.6 “Skirmishes” out of 10
Enjoying Step by Bloody Step? Check out BNP’s other reviews here.
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