The Twilight Zone #6 Review
Publisher: Dynamite
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Guiu Vilanova
Colorist: Vinicius Andrade
Letterer: Rob Steen
Cover Artist: Francesco Francavilla
Review by: Josh Gillam
Only in the world of The Twilight Zone could a creative team like Straczynski, Vilanova and Andrade exist. They are so supernaturally good at what they do, this book has to have come from another dimension.
This issue is Act Two of “The Way In” storyline, which follows the character Diana. In the previous issue Diana starts to hear people’s thoughts after she comes into possession of an ancient cursed coin (the origins of which are beautifully explained in this issue). She is also haunted by visions of Manhattan, where she lives, being annihilated in a nuclear blast.
At the beginning of this issue, Diana has a brief interaction with three individuals at the coffee shop where she works. When she hears their thoughts, she suspects that they might be responsible for the bomb. After another brief exchange with a troubled customer in her coffee shop, Diana decides that it’s up to her to do what she can about the imminent bomb threat to Manhattan. If I was to say more, I’d be depriving you the pleasure of reading this issue, so I’ll leave the rest of the details for you to enjoy on your own.
I really enjoy J. Michael Straczynski’s writing on the Twilight Zone series. In this story he has been weaving together mystery and thriller, and it’s working really well. The mystery of the coin and Diana’s mind reading powers is compelling and, in true Twilight Zone fashion, keeps the reader engaged in the story. I was anxiously turning the pages, hoping the next one would have a revelation on it. At the same time we have the impending doom concept, another tried and true Twilight Zone plot.
While the concepts might be old, the story Straczynski delivers is new and fresh. I wanted to point out one specific thing to commend Straczynski on as well. The scene when she is in the coffee shop and is talking to the troubled customer and she gives her “I’m no hero” speech, was some awesome dialogue. It’s a pretty big insight into what kind of life she’s lived, and how hard she’s had it. I actually went back and read through the previous issue again so I could see her character with a different perspective.
The artwork, as usual, was a delight. Before I go into specifics, I want to start of by saying that the coloring by Vinicius Andrade is absolutely amazing. I love the color in this Twilight Zone series. It seems bright and colorful yet dark and disturbing at the same time.
The illustrations from Guiu Vilanova continues the same stunning spectacles we’ve come to expect from previous issues. These two together are a great team, and I feel that a great example of that can be found as quickly as panel 2 on page 1. In that panel we see one of Diana’s visions of the nuclear explosion from high above the city, and it’s a pretty impressive picture. Diana has another vision of the explosion of the explosion further into the book, but you don’t see the explosion from above the city, you see it from the city street. It’s a full page panel, and it’s probably the most disturbing one in the book, but it’s a great example of the talent Vilanova and Andrade possess. Every page and every panel is packed full of awesome artwork and some pages will simply make you stop, stare, and just take it in.
Twilight Zone is a brilliant piece of science fiction. As the mystery unravels, you’ll be pulled further and further in the story until you find yourself in The Twilight Zone.
Story: 5/5
Art: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Josh Gillam is the creator and writer for the webcomic/comedy project, Cynical Stew. You can follow him on Twitter at @Cynical_Stew