E-ratic #1 Review

by Carlos R. on December 02, 2020

E-ratic #1 Cover Graphic
Writer and artist: Kaare Andrews
Colors by: Brian Reber
Lettered by: Sal Cipriano
Publisher: AWA Studios

I have to say, this is one good looking book. Andrews, Reber, and Cipriano create a cohesive book and there’s lots to admire here.

E-ratic follows Oliver Leif, who for the most part is your run-of-the-mill teenager, aside from the ten minutes a day he is gifted astounding abilities. Andrews definitely had me hooked on that premise. There’s so much room for stories there and I’m definitely curious about how this series will proceed.

This is a 5-issue mini-series, so this chapter sets up a lot of what’s to come and there is A LOT to come for Oliver. Andrews takes a fun approach to the staff of this high school, if you loved X-Men Evolution as much as I did, you’ll definitely get a kick out of this book. I enjoyed the family dynamic here and hope we get to see more of it explored, especially between Oliver and his brother, I just love how easy life comes together for his brother right from the get-go. I’m curious to learn more about the events before this book and how that played a role in their relationships, there’s slight hints to an event causing a shift for humanity. The mystery to the series does make me curious to follow along, but I would’ve liked to have been given a bit more information regarding Oliver’s powers. While there are some of your standard YA cliches and a fairly cheesy line, this book is fun and definitely threw some curveballs at me by the end.

Now, I love my CW teen dramas as much as the next person, seriously One Tree Hill was my jam, but one issue I’ve always had is that everyone is so unrealistically gorgeous. And though the characters here are not the pimply, awkward teenagers of my youth, they don’t feel out of place. I think that comes from the stark contrast of the opening pages compared to the rest of the book. The darker tones of those first pages make the rest of the book feel almost unsettling as you wait for that return to the setting of the beginning. I love Reber’s colors in this issue, they really complement Andrew’s designs and Reber makes great use of light and red to highlight undertones of emotion. I thoroughly enjoyed Oliver’s embarrassed faces.

E-ratic seems to be setting up one jam-packed series if this first issue was any indication. This first chapter dealt more with the angst of Oliver’s youth rather than his super heroic adventures, but definitely helped to get to know his character better. If you love teen dramas, great art, and super heroics, I’d recommend checking this series out.
 

Our Score:

8/10

A Look Inside