Irrational Numbers: Subtraction #1
Publisher: Wunderman Comics
Writer: Hannibal Tabu
Artist: Giancarlo Caracuzzo
Colorist: Flavia Caracuzzo
Letters: Josephine Roberts
The story of the Vampyr nation continues as this issue picks up thousands of years after Irrational Numbers: Addition. There’s been significant changes in the world since Zalmoxis, Sofia, and Medea first gifted themselves with vampirism. But not only has the world changed but we also see that there have been significant changes in the relationships between the three.
Hannibal Tabu wastes no time getting things going and sets a pretty intense pace in the first few pages. There has been serious conflicts between the three and their respective sects but now a bigger problem is on the horizon. The dialogue during their meeting plays out in great fashion and is one of the highlights of the issue. Not only does Tabu firmly establish the story going forth but he also introduces a new player here only known as The Reaper. A group of mysterious individuals who pose a serious threat to all of the vampyr sects. Though this may be a familiar story element when it comes to vampires, the way in which it all plays out keeps it from being too cliché. This is also helped with further explanation for them becoming vampires in the first place.
Once again the artwork from Giancarlo and Flavia pushes the narrative along and gives the book an entirely different feel from the previous issue. They nail the time period and though the characters have barely aged their individual designs show the subtle differences that have taken place since we last saw them. The individual panels with Zalmoxis are some of my favorites as the emotion is conveyed almost perfectly. The guy looks like he’s about to lose it and is stressed beyond measure and it just adds to the atmosphere of the narrative. You feel the weight of issues that Zalmoxis has been carrying which I think also helped strengthen the cliffhanger. It was also a nice touch to use less and less color as the flashbacks went further back in time so props to Flavia for that bit of visual storytelling. There are also two characters who have no dialogue but their presence feels necessary and carries weight because of the art so hopefully we get more of them as things progress.
If you didn’t pick up the previous zero issue don’t worry. This is still a great jumping on point because Irrational Numbers: Subtraction #1 does exactly what it’s supposed to as a first issue. Now, there are some areas where it becomes a bit too familiar in regards to vampire stories but whether that’s okay or not is up to the individual reader. However, if you’re into vampire stories with strong characterization coupled with some great artwork then I suggest you give this one a look.
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
