Bigger Than Capes

Writer: Pornsak Pichetshote
Artist: Alexandre Tefenkgi
Colourist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Jeff Powell

There are times when I am reading a comic book and exclaim OMG. It’s not that often. With this book I was doing it with virtually every other page. There is a lot going on and yet it doesn’t feel overpacked. The pacing is sublime and the revelations contained within are just really amazing. I will say this is the best issue yet for those who have been following this story since the start.

At the end of issue #6 Edison Hark had been cornered in a old factory warehouse, shot and captured by a mysterious assailant. Here we find him in dire circumstances handcuffed to a pipe. Though he will get answers to some of the mysteries he went out to solve. He knows now who was responsible for many of the murders that have occurred so far and it’s a tragic story indeed.

I hate going into too much detail because honestly this was a wonderful thing to see unfold and see how flashbacks slowly build up to produce a potted biography and you can finally see how certain events and circumstances led to the chaos and murder we’ve seen in the previous issues. There is some wonderful character work here. It’s just so well done.

The art is also at its best here. I don’t want to pick out too many examples (because spoilers) but in one of the flashbacks there’s the death of a character and the way in which the cause of death – drugs, is subtly hinted at is wonderful. It’s a tiny little detail in a panel that gives a singular moment a lot of weight. That sort of detail in the art really backs up the strong character work.

There are other little moments too. The panel where Edison’s detective badge is the sole focus, some panels where there’s an arm pointing a gun, looking at it from above. It’s so striking. And it’s really backed up with the strong colour work. The use of blues in the warehouse scenes, then the brighter red colours later. The way the flashbacks reflect mood with the colours is great and helps tell the tale.

It’s a real visual pleasure to read and the art and story are so perfectly integrated. This is also very clear when we see Edison face head on some deep seated racial issues. The bad guy is almost a parallel to Edison in a weird way when we think about racial identity, there is a common ground that weirdly neither of them get to see. There are a lot more layers to the prejudices and and racial injustice of the world than previously explored and the forum where it’s examined here really works.

I would love to go further into the plot but it’s so difficult when trying to avoid spoilers. I will say that Edison Hark is once more put through the ringer both physically and emotionally. Just when you think things can’t any worse they do. As a protagonist he’s someone you empathise with but he’s not without flaws. Some of these flaws are present here, as although Edison is intelligent he’s clearly got his blind spots and this is what has led him to his current situation.

As usual there’s a big cliff-hanger at the end, probably the biggest one yet. I was so very, very shocked by what happened and had to go back and check there weren’t any more pages because oh my goodness to leave it there. Next month cannot come soon enough.

Overall The Good Asian #7 is absolutely sublime. With wonderful character work, wonderful art and a gripping pace this is a book that really has gotten better each issue. The fact I am still surprised and blown away by it is a sign of the high quality this book has.