Reviews
REVIEW: Violete: Unstoppable
Writer & Art Director: Ed Jowett
Co-Writer: Jennifer Martin
Cover Image: Linggar Bramity
Artwork: Rahmad Wisnubroto
Lettering: Keith Draws
Violete: Unstoppable is the tale of a superpowered young adult named Viola. Viola, who goes by Violete while a superhero, appears to be the lone hero in her city. This first issue revolves around Violete’s fight against a small-time criminal she recently captured who has been transformed into a full-fledged reptilian supervillain. This is Violete’s first time combating an equally powered foe, and she is not prepared.
Violete was a surprisingly good read. In a crowded field of superhero stories, Violete is trying to stand out with a unique take on an old story and details that ground the characters in the real world. We jump right into Viola’s super-powered life. There is no origin story, no background, just superpowered Violete. I can’t decide if this is a fresh take, forsaking the origin story, or confusing. I wondered, and then google, if this was the first issue or if I had missed an issue (if you’re wondering, it’s the first issue). It doesn’t take away from the story, jumping right in, but perhaps an introduction paragraph at the start would have saved me a trip to Google.
The story arc for the first issue is excellent! Jowett foreshadows enough to make you come back for future issues yet ties up this first plot by the end of the issue. Viola is a relatable superhero, with personal worries and concerns, shortcomings, and a tense relationship with the police. She makes mistakes, misjudges situations, and has to learn on her own. I look forward to watching Viola’s character development in future stories. Adding to the fullness of the story is a well-done editing job with no noticeable grammatical or spelling errors.
Jowett does an excellent job with Viola’s internal monologue. It comes across as natural and flows well with the story. The dialogue throughout the book is well done. Each character has their unique personality and voice, which is expressed well through conversations and dialogue.
Wisnubroto’s art is solid. Nothing new or unique, but solid comic book style art helps bring Violete to life. Each Character design is well thought out and expressed nicely on the pages. Characters from Violete’s parents to the police officers get a thoughtful interpretation that adds to the depth of the story.
Future issues of Violete will decide if this series is good or great, but issue 1 is a solid start to the series and leaves me wanting to know what comes next. You can get issue 1 now at https://www.shadesofvengeance.com. Issue 2 is currently on Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sovcomics/violete-2-backlash?ref=e7ho5a).
About Violete: Unstoppable:
Being a lone hero seems easy initially, but when the police hate you and supervillains are running around, who can you turn to for help? Viola has everyone’s first choice in superpowers: FLIGHT! (and also super strength!)
Despite working to prove herself through stopping crimes all over the city, the police still frown on her activities as the masked vigilante Violete. Even so, all is going fairly well until one of the criminals she has caught before escapes from prison. She has no idea he’s going to be changed into the supervillain Rampage, biologically enhanced with chameleon DNA for one purpose: to defeat her…
About Ed Jewett:
Ed Jowett (WRITER) is a creator, writer, development coach and producer for Shades of Vengeance www.shadesofvengeance.com. Having helmed a wide range of products including roleplaying games, comics, card games, audio dramas, miniatures games and e-zines, he has run over 60 Kickstarters in the last 6 years. His roleplaying games Era: The Consortium, Era: Lyres and Era: The Empowered have received critical acclaim and nominations for a variety of industry awards.
