Lost Between Worlds issues 1 to 3 (aka Hour 0 to 2)
Special thanks to Edwin De Castro for inviting me to review this comic. Just to be clear the views expressed below are the thoughts of Rob Turner and do not necessarily reflect the whole Reynard City/Polycomical team. You can find out more about Lost Between Worlds at https://www.lostbetweenworldscomic.com/
Lost Between Worlds
CONTENT WARNING- Some heavy violence, mental health issues, dark themes
Hour 0
Creator/Writer: Edwin Jose De Castro
Designs/Layouts/Inks/Cover: Elton Thomasi Dias
Alternate Cover Work: Christan Villon
Designs/Layouts/Inks/Colourist: Maclej Radwański
Lettering: Reed Hinckley-Barnes
Colourist: Diego Do Nascimento Lima
Designs: Irma G San
The artwork is excellent, the character interactions remind me of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, albeit a little more light-hearted and arguably a bit more accessible. The story concerns Gwynne, a reaper who is trying to establish herself in her role while still seeking guidance from her father. Over the course of the issue, we see how the reaping process works and some interesting challenges, such as what happens when you try to reap someone with an identity disorder.
If I was going to be uber-critical, I would say some exposition is needlessly repeated but overall a terrific introduction to the story of Lost Between Worlds and I strongly recommend giving this a go.
Hour 1
Creator/Writer: Edwin Jose De Castro
Designs/Layouts/Inks/Cover: Elton Thomasi Dias
Main Cover Work: The Q Method
Designs: Maclej Radwański
Colouring: Diego Do Nascimento Lima and Gabriel Macedo
Designs: Irma G San
We begin with an excellent recap, as well as the sad news that Diego Do Nascimento Lima died during the making of this issue (RIP). The story then sees Gwynne trying to reap someone whose soul she can’t take. This leads to more discussions with beings from the spirit world and how these events could lead to the cataclysmic events of Ragnarok.
Once again I think the art looks exceptional, the team have done a fantastic job. As a lovely bonus we also get some additional art at the end of the issue. While the last issue repeated exposition, this issue suffers a little from telling rather than showing, with dialogue heavy scenes describing action and backstories.
That being said, when we do get action it looks fantastic, the characters are imaginative and I like that the spirit world feels vivid and colourful as opposed to the usual doom and gloom. After a strong introduction, this issue maintains the good work and successfully raises the stakes, so looking forward to reading the next one!
Hour 2
Creator/Writer: Edwin Jose De Castro
Designs/Layouts/Inks/Cover: Elton Thomasi Dias
Main Cover Art: Erica Rodrigues
Alternate Cover Art: Brendan Albetski
Designs: Maclej Radwański
Irma G San
Lettering: Reed Hinckley-Barnes
Colouring: Gabriel Macedo
We begin with Verda (the alternate identity of Dospe) talking about how he “can’t let him die”, suggesting there may be more to this than we have been led to believe. Meanwhile Gwynne encounters fellow reapers Sienna and Sancho, leading to some fun banter and character dynamics.
We are also introduced to Helena, who has a desire to bring about Ragnarok after becoming disillusioned with the world of reaping. This sets up a big climactic fight as she comes into conflict with Gwynne.
This third issue once again as terrific artwork and we are given more fun characters. The action is intense and the world building is impressive. Once again though, I do feel there is an excessive use of dialogue. This is something I had to deal with when first working on scripts (my screenwriting tutor’s tip was “imagine each word costs a pound”).
We also get the added bonus of character and creator Q and As, adding extra fun and insight.
Overall thoughts
Lost Between Worlds is visually very impressive, taking the spirit world idea and making it vivid and colourful as opposed to moody and maudlin. While that can work well, having recently watched the Netflix adaptation of Sandman (which was great, don’t get me wrong!) I was grateful for a more accessible tone, a delightful dessert as opposed to a rich main course.
I really like Gwynne as a central character and there are some great ideas here that could be further built on. My only real issues are with some excessive exposition dumping and over-use of dialogue but these are minor complaints that don’t affect the overall quality.
In short (provided you’re not squeamish about blood and gore) I recommend giving Lost Between Worlds a go!
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