(IMAGE PROVIDED VIA GOOGLE)
***SPOILER WARNING: I PROMISE THAT I WILL TRY MY HARDEST NOT TO GIVE SPOILERS...SORRY IF I DO***
It's no secret, I am a huge comic book fan for as long as I can remember. I even have a social media account (ComicFanLegacy) that is completely dedicated to my fandom of comics. Hayden, the author and artist of this graphic novel, reached out to me to see if I would read his comic. After one look at the cover, I simply could not resist at the chance. For me, just seeing how the red made the cover of this graphic novel pop made this something that I found very intriguing. Yes I have my staple characters that I read with DC's trinity of Superman, Batman and Wonder Wonder along with the rest of their long list of characters. I'm also a Marvel fan (bet you can tell that I'm more of a DC guy). But every now and then I like to dig into some independent comics to see what else is out there. Since I am a self publishing author myself, I have found that there is a lot of great work out there that the general public does not really get the opportunity to read.
(PHOTOS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: HAYDEN COCKRILL, LEAD CHARACTER RONNIE, THE VILLAIN REAPER)
THE ART
Hayden (pictured above) is a good artist. Take the cover, I love the layout and it pulled me in immediately when I saw it. I feel that the red was used properly to highlight the right areas and it did not over power the illustrations of the character. The interior of the book saw black and white pages like pictured above. I liked that it was in black and white. I understand that color pages costs more to print especially if you are self publishing. Would I have liked to see the color red used throughout the book like we see in the cover. Yes. Did I miss seeing red while reading the book? Not at all. I quickly felt that if red was used throughout the story it would have lost its appeal on the cover. I ended up thinking that black and white was the way to go here. I even found that I preferred it to the idea of a fully colored novel. I felt that the black and white pages actually worked for the story.
THE STORY
Out of respect for the material, I am really going to try my best not to give any of the story away. The Crimson Six begins by following the character of Ronnie. By following Ronnie (pictured above), we get to see an example of the world that we are set in. We see the evil that lurks through our every day lives and how it is hidden from the every day person. Ronnie is one of our main characters in The Crimson Six and forging our connection with him in the beginning of the book is important to setting the tone of what is to come later on. We also follow Reaper (pictured above), the evil being that has been working behind the scenes throughout history. He is as bad as they come and will stop at nothing to accomplish his villainous goals. Again, I am trying very hard not to give away the story and in doing so I am leaving out so much fun from cover to cover. I merely mention Ronnie and Reaper because those are the two most prevalent paths to follow in the book and they drive the story beyond any other character. As the reader, you can tell that Hayden (pictured above) had a lot of fun creating this graphic novel. It's a fun read that I had a hard time putting down. The story never seemed to slow down and the art drove the reader to continue.
LASTING IMPRESSIONS
I enjoyed The Crimson Six. I want to read more about the characters. I am also hoping that this book starts Hayden off into sort of a comic book universe of his own. I feel that some of the Crimson Six could branch out into their own books. Hayden, you have my support buddy and I look forward to reading more of your books in the future. I suggest The Crimson Six to any lover of comics.
You can purchase The Crimson Six on Amazon at Amazon.com and you can visit Hayden on his Instagram account @whatishaydendrawing.
Enjoy!
