Digital Comics and Echoes: A Review

A Brief Introduction to Digital Comics 

Comixology is one of many ways to buy digital comics, but it's the only one I am familiar with, so it's all I can discuss. DC, Marvel, and a plethora of other publishers make their comics available on Comixology. The comics available aren't just modern ones; classics are also available.

It is supported on many platforms: iPad, iPhone/iPod, PC, and Android phones. Once you buy a comic, even if you delete it because it's taking up storage, you can download it again - on any platform. I read my digital comics on my iPod. It is a small screen, but that's not an issue. Comixology, if you turn on the option, takes you through it panel by panel, and rotates it accordingly. You can also choose to view the entire page before the first or after the last panel on the page to get an idea of the layout. On spreads or pages with artwork, though, it will show you anyways, so don't fear missing anything. I can't speak to other platforms with certainty, but I know that comics read wonderfully on iPods, I imagine that it's very similar on Androids, and I've heard they're ideal on iPads. 

Like you'd expect it to be able to, Comixology saves your page, and you can jump around to any page you want to at any time. No matter where you are, the comics are available to you, and you don't have to worry about a story keeping them in stock. It's a free app, and they have some free comics available, so there's no reason not to try it out!

Echoes

(Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov, Art by Rashan Ekedal)

Up until now, all the comics I've discussed feature super heroes, and are part of the DCU. Comics are much more than that; they're written by a wide range of people, and read by an audience with many different tastes. Echoes, written by Josh Fialkov, is a comic that is off the beaten path.

Echoes: 5/5 Stars

Echoes is a limited series of five issues, and it has been collected into one volume jam packed with extra goodies. I first read it collected in the volume, thankfully, because I don't know what I would have done if I had to wait a month between each issue.  

Suspense. That's the first word that comes to mind when I think of Echoes. Echoes is the best kind of psychological thriller. The first issue reflects the general trend of the whole series: it starts off teasing that something is wrong, lulls you into thinking life is going on normally, peaks your curiosity, and at the perfect time, as the tension has been mounting the entire issue, the comic grabs you in a vice grip and keeps your interest trapped under a crushing weight of horrific insanity.

Echoes is about a delusional man, a schizophrenic, whose sickly father, on his death bed, tells him he's committed terrible crimes and where he can find the evidence. If you enjoy Fight Club, American Psycho, or some of Poe's short stories, such as The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell Tale Heart, and The Black Cat, then you may enjoy Echoes, as they all share something in common: suspense and an unreliable narrator. The use of the unreliable narrator in Echoes is used the way a good unreliable narrator should be;  the reason he is unreliable is the true heart of the conflict and is what drives the story. 

Echoes is drawn entirely in grayscale (except for the marvelously deranged, gruesome covers), and Rashan Ekedal's art is fantastic. The layout of some of the spreads reflects just how psychotic the events of this book are. One type of drawing keeps repeating, as it's central to the plot, and those illustrations, no matter how many times you see them, never stop chilling the bone. It is during these moments that the lack of colors forces the reader to shade the pictures themselves, leading each person into a different hell of their own imaginings, where the true strength of the black and white drawings shine.

Echoes also contains emotionally powerful scenes. The main character frequently undergoes periods of severe dread, and you feel it every bit as strongly as he does. The scenes with the strongest emotions, however, take place between the main character and his father, and those moments are truly enhanced by the care the artist clearly gave them.  

Echoes is a book about the abuse of power, the burden of feeling the need to prove oneself to an unchangingly dissapointed parent, a series of terrible crimes, the mistreatment of the mentally unstable, and "The Sins of the Father." I warn you now, it is not a happy book; the heart-wrenching ending would not put a smile on anyone's face. It does, however, put the whole comic into a new perspective, and especially brings a new meaning of the opening sequence.

Anyone who enjoys horror, psychological thrillers, suspense, or stories without a happy ending should read this comic. The first issue is up for free on Comixology, which is a great way to find out if it's worth the purchase. The collected volume which comes with loaded with goodies (initial sketches, the process behind the writing and art, etc.) only costs six dollars. $1.20 per comic is a steal, especially for a story this amazing.