REVIEW: Black Star Line #4

Rating if the Book Were a Movie: R

Creative Team:

• Creator/Writer: Tony Kittrell
• Artist: Sherard Jackson and Rafael Dantas Gomes
• Colors: Kirsty Swan and PH Fuller
• Letters: Shawn DePasquale and Lettersquid
• Cover: Myke Guisinga
• Editor: Tony Kittrell
• Publisher: Advent Comics

Ratings:

• Story: 4.0 Stars
• Artwork: 3.8 Stars
• Cover Artwork: 4.2 Stars
• Dialogue: 3.8 Stars
• Mechanics: 3.8 Stars
• Editing: 4.1 Stars

About the Book:

Black Star Line #4 begins in present day America. This isn’t the America we know. The country is engulfed in a civil war. A special ops unit has been deployed to the Confederacy to infiltrate a prison and rescue a high value person of interest. When the team accomplishes their first objective they discover that the prisoner of interest is Roxa Miller, the daughter of the president of the Confederacy!

Reader’s Notes:

I love how Mr. Kittrell finds a way to give us a good action story while simultaneously bringing up social issues. Marvel did the same thing with The X-Men. The X-Men did it using the mutants as a metaphor for people of color. Mr. Kittrell skips the metaphor and pulls no punches while telling it like it is in Black Star Line #4. 

With Black Star Line #4 Mr. Kittrell is playing the part of the Ghost of Christmas Future. In the past few years it has felt like our nation has been on the brink of civil war on more than one occasion. If it happens it won’t be a division between states. It’s going to be a battle between classes, creeds, and races. This book gives us a glimpse of what that will look like.

We need more books like this. Sadly, a pissed off fan base that doesn’t want to embrace change or diversity won’t buy your product. That’s why the big two are going to stay in the middle of the road and maintain the status quo. They don’t want to upset the apple cart and interfere with their revenue streams by bringing up social issues. It’s up to indie creators to get their content out there and make people see there’s a problem.

This cover is timeless. It embodies everything America is supposed to stand for. The flag. The Constitution. It’s a reminder that WE ARE THE PEOPLE. United we stand. That can not be forgotten. 

The artwork on the interior pages is solid. We get great lines and detail without having panels so detailed that it becomes distracting. 

I want to take a moment to talk about the lettering in Black Star Line #4. Usually lettering is akin to being an official for a professional sporting event. If it’s done correctly it’s overlooked. If there’s a mistake it can be huge. The lettering in this book is incredible. I loved the different ways the onomatopoeia was done. The “boom” when the plastic explosives detonated was one of the best single panels I’ve ever seen.

As a geek on a budget I am all in on Black Star Line #4. It has a compelling story with plenty of action. Most importantly it raises a mirror for part of America to see what it has become.

You can get your copy of Black Star Line #4 at:

www.adventcomics.com