BURN is a new series out of Arcana Comics by artist Camilla d'Errico and writer Scott Sanders. Burn is the main character, and the story revolves around Burn and a machine named Shoftiel who is programmed to destroy all humans. Will Burn be enough to stop the coming apocalypse or will it take more than just one boy?
This story starts off with a sneak peek of what is to come in the issue - a young boy who looks like he is a mechanical being. It then flashbacks to two hours previously, when Burn is outside playing a ball game with his friends. He is unaware that his life is about to change dramatically. All of a sudden, Burn sees something that is coming towards his friends and tries to make a run for it. While this is happening, the military has quickly taken over, and are scrambling to do their best against Sofitel. Cerebus has turned against it's creator, and begun a war between artificial intelligence and mankind. Burn also has to face the reality that his parents may not have survived the massacre of Sofitel. All this is a lot for a young boy to take in all at once, and he's not at all prepared for what's going to happen to him now.
At first glance, it seems to be a very simple tale about a young boy who is being chased by a mechanoid that has seemingly gone insane. However, the beginning of the story hints at a much larger storyline involving the boy and the machine after they are fused together by a simple act of self-perservation. This first issue mainly sets up the plot and characters for the series. The story starts off slow, then as the sentinel enters Burn's town, it starts to pick up in pace, getting ready to show readers exactly what happens to Burn. Some scenes in this story felt unnecessary, and I felt the that the story lacked much of an explanation.
The artwork strongly reminds me of Japanese manga with its pronounced features such as the eyes and the mouth, and with over-exaggerated expressions. The artist makes excellent use of greyscaling, adding extra depth and shading to the characters and the setting. Camilla d'Errico does a wonderful job portraying a frightened young boy who doesn't understand what's happening to him or why. The final panel on the last page has an amazing, and emotionally provoking look on the boy's face after the merging. The artwork does a wonderful job of telling the story where there isn't any text accompanying the panels.
This was an interesting and dramatic start to the mini-series. I'm not overly enthusiastic about this issue since it seemed very empty and somehow lacking in detail, but the ending sparked some curiousity about what future the writer has planned for Burn. So far, it's a promising start to what will certainly turn out to be a story about Burn's internal struggle with Shoftiel, the machine part of him. If you're a fan of science fiction stories with mecha or cyborgs, this is bound to interest you. |
