Image Comics kicks off a wild experiment in Radiant Black #26: two issues, different artists, the same basic story but with different characters. Does Kyle Higgins and Joe Clark’s bold gambit with artists Marcelo Costa and Eduardo Ferigato work?
We reviewed the book on the Stack podcast. But in the interest of highlighting more about the title, here’s a summary of the conversation with our thoughts. And if you prefer the longer audio version, that’s below as well!
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Radiant Black #26 Review:
There are two different issues of Radiant Black #26. In the first one, we’re following Marshall, who is now Radiant Black, as he fights a robot army. In the second, we’re following Nathan, who is now Radiant Black, as he fights a robot army. Confused? That’s because two issues back the title had fans vote on who would be the new hero in charge. Instead, we’re getting to see the same event play out from each of the characters’ perspectives, and who is really Radiant Black will be revealed in a few issues’ time.
Host Alex Zalben called this a “fascinating project.” Zalben copped to the fact that he was initially very “iffy about this” because the previous issue of the title only slightly varied the stories between the Marshall version of the book, and the Nathan version of the book. “This was incredible. And I didn’t know how incredible it was until I read the second one. Because you’re seeing not just two artists interpret essentially the same camera angles on [events]. But things go very differently with these two different characters, and not in the ways you’d expect, in ways that logically make sense. I was very impressed by this.”
Pete LePage added that he loved the book on “many levels,” and felt it was “such a cool way to explore” how two different people will make different choices in the same events. Like Zalben, at first he was “very skeptical,” but ultimately was “so happy with how smart [the creative team] was with the choices, they did a great job of letting you see something again from a different perspective.”
Justin Tyler also agreed, adding that the book was “such a surprise” and ultimately the B issue left readers with a “poignant takeaway, which is the point of a project like this… I’ve never read anything like this.”
Radiant Black #26 Official Synopsis:
THE CATALYST WAR CONTINUES! The rules of engagement become clear.Nathan and Marshall face the first trial.
