Deiciders #2
Deiciders #2 Markosia 2020 Written by André Mateus Pencilled by Pedro Mendes Inked by Nuno Mesquita Sarabando Coloured by Patrik Caetano Lettered by Ryan Bielak   Tired and broken after putting down a Wolf God, Ulfrith and Olaf cross the icy plains of Scandinavia to kill a mythical dragon when they come upon a mysterious stranger. But is it friend... or foe?   I like this series a whole heck of a lot.  I hope that when another arc is announced that we get to see the further adventures through travelling together because how this ended and leads into the final issue did not make me a happy camper.  I am really impressed with what Andre has managed to do here because in a short while he has introduced us to strangers and made them feel like family.  In a twisted Norse way naturally.  It is that talent and ability he possesses which has enabled him to bring them to life so quickly and have them make an impact upon the reader as well as being able to relate or identify with them.   I am thoroughly enjoying the way that this is being told, sans the ending of this issue.  The way that we see the story & plot development through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is extremely well presented.  The way we see a new character introduced and the flow that’s created by all this is wonderfully done.  The character development that we see through how they act and react to situations and circumstances beautifully demonstrates how they keep growing and evolving.  The pacing here is great and as it takes us through the pages it shows how everything works together to create the ebb & flow for the story.   Aside from a very unique setting and the obvious Norse names that they gave their children in reverence to the Gods they worshipped, I like this because it is at its core a sword and sorcery style tale that doesn’t read like one.  It reads like an action adventure thriller as they aren’t on a real quest for fame and fortune as it were and it’s not a buddy story as well and that it can encompass all of them and yet doesn’t so that it forges its own unique path is a thing to admire.   The interiors here are absolutely beautifully rendered.  I love the linework we see here and how the varying weights are being utilised to show this nice amount of attention to detail.  I am a fan of Pendro’s eye and for this art team in general because the backgrounds we see are utilised perfectly.  If there is to be a blank one they’ve been turned into the sky or have this gradation from the light source.  I would prefer no blanks of any kind as that hinders the depth perception, scale and overall sense of size and scope to the book and here it’s well managed, to bring all those things to us.  The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a really nice eye for storytelling.  I am really impressed with the inks here as well.  I like how we see them come from the pencils and how Nuno varies his own weights to really punch thi9ngs up.  The colour work is great.  I like how we see the hues and tones within the colours utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work we see.  ​   I am really loving this story, these characters and the creators themselves.  It is interesting to bond with all of this this way because projects come and go so we are never guaranteed they’ll be back for another round.  Markosia has some phenomenal books out on stands in the repertoire that you need to be reading.
