Umbral #5 Review

Will the Umbral’s back story give some clarity to this tale? Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

“THE MYTH OF HISTORY”
Did you really think we could get through five issues without doing a bit of “now harken ye to these olde legends?” Then you haven’t been paying attention. There are clues in here! Important ones! And gods fighting with swords, too, if you like that sort of thing. Some do.

This has to be the best issue of Umbral yet, and following drop in quality in the last issue I’m glad it’s escalated as much as it has. The issue does a fantastic job of delving into the mythos of this fantasy world, with the back story’s style being extremely appealing to this long time fantasy/Medieval fan.

Antony Johnston has definitely improved from his last script, reminding me why I enjoyed the series to start with. The way that he adds tension to this magical adventure is simply outstanding, giving much needed depth and tone. Johnston also does a tremendous job of building up the eventual showdown between Rascal and the Umbral, as despite this issue focusing mainly on the worlds history it’s nice that he’s also thinking of the bigger picture. On top of this the issue also has a gripping cliffhanger and despite the predictability of it, it does have me itching to read the next issue.

Christopher Mitten‘s art has easily been the best thing about this series, with the rough, gritty style being simply perfect for this story. Mitten does however also add a lot of detail to his art, as despite being rougher than most artists the scenery and character expressions are all spectacular adding vibrancy to the series. His layouts are also captivating, flowing smoothly from panel to panel with the back story also having charming feel to it. Mitten isn’t the only one to be praised on the art team as Jordan Boyd‘s colours yet again prove to be the perfect finish to this wonderful art, giving extra depth to the art.

Umbral bounces back from passable fourth issue, being the energetic fantasy series that it promised to be. Highly recommended.