Dark days brewing.
Creative Staff:
Story: Brian Wood
Art: Andrea Mutti
Colors: Lauren Affe
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
What They Say:
Twenty years old and already an experienced shipbuilder, John Abbott divides his time between the construction of the USS Constitution and dabbling in the raucous and sometimes violent political demonstrations happening around him. After he falls in with two abolitionists one night in Boston, things take a tragic turn.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Rebels in its first series certainly won me over for its exploration of ideas, times, and places of things that were often only touched on lightly in school based history when I was a child. Brian Wood has been bringing this time period alive with that series and this one with what it explores, rendered so beautifully in a rough and raw way by Andrea Mutti that it takes you to that period in a way a lot of other mediums can’t. With this series focusing on 1794 with John Abbott and his experiences, especially as someone that’s gifted and is hiding who he is in order to fit in, it’s working a different path but doing the important work of expanding our view and understanding of events in this time.
The second issue is covering a lot of ground here as the piracy along the Barbary Coast has now reached the point where much more is being done by the government, though a lot of people are still very unhappy about it. The naming of the six ships being commissioned for this is an amusing piece that shows the indifferent way some of those in the Navy were looking at it. But we also get some good pieces in showing the first stages of what will turn into the USS Constitution with Abbott bringing himself to involvement in it with his incredible skills that come very naturally to him. I loved the piece here that focuses on the acquisition of the pine trees for it and their past with how the British had claimed them as well as seeing how Abbott gets himself all set to commit heavily to this project and wanting real control over it while not asking for a penny more in pay.
The social side of the time is intriguing as well, with Abbot and some coworkers in New York at the start as they get caught up in with an abolitionist movement event. That brings out the traded slurs of quakers and federalists, but all of this is important to show the changing tide of opinion that’s starting to come in. While war is in the offing, something that Abbott can sense in the big city where things are moving, there are many others that want nothing to change and to be isolated. With the abolitionists, there’s that sea change element as well coming in as there are those that understand what’s happening and are looking to change how things are done and those that want everything to stay as is, and especially to not let the influence from others do the altering. Abbott’s not an idiot by any stretch but he’s doing his best to come across as indifferent and uninterested in so much of it. But the change is coming and you can see how he’ll be swept up in pieces of it.
In Summary:
Rebels is laying a lot of groundwork here to explore the time and people of this place and how the events of the world are shaping the new nation – one that has a very small slice of history to it, as one person notes. With a lot of this period not really covered in my own upbringing and so many interesting elements to it, I’m thoroughly enjoying seeing the stories of the abolitionists coming to light during a critical phase overseas for it, the formation of new ships including the USS Constitution, and seeing how Abbott himself is beginning to really make a name for himself and securing greater position, even without the fame as he’s not looking for that in the slightest. Andrea Mutti is key to bringing so much of this to life and does it with such skill and presentation with the layouts along with the mechanical and character design that I could just read the thing without any dialogue itself and get a wonderful story. Very good material all around and a strong part of the larger whole that’s being woven together.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: April 26th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
