Page 45 Review by Stephen
Delicious, intense, sustained and absorbing atmosphere from Danijel Žeželj & Lee Loughbridge weights this industrial sci-fi crime so strikingly with its girders, gangways and sky-scrapers either in silhouette or blazing out the most luxurious light pollution that those thousand words it saves in every single panel allow Azzarrello (THE BLOOD BROTHERS MOTHER, 100 BULLETS) & Phillips (Stephanie) to whip this along at a crackingly slick, wicked and witty pace.
Like KILL OR BE KILLED, the art goes full toxic bleed on every page, the twilight backgrounds wrapping around inset panels, anchoring their context and deepening your immersion further. Gorgeously lit by Žeželj (DAYS OF HATE) and Loughbridge
Žeželj is master of the lived-in, worldly-wise or simply world-weary, wiry face. And age is very much a concern here, as is a criminal endeavour to crack open a vault on a prison planer for hard, mining labour.
Meanwhile, on the first issue's FLIP-side... Oh, didn't I mention that? Each issue features an alternative look at LIFE - and we could all do with one of those. Both stories' final page(s) dovetail for a perfect punchline.
A quarterly comic, I presume, like THE BLOOD BROTHERS MOTHER.
The publisher writes:
"Released 28th August 2024 NEW 56 PAGE SERIES DEBUT. Brian Azzarello (THE BLOOD BROTHERS MOTHER, 100 Bullets) and Stephanie Phillips writing together for the first time (Grim, Harley Quinn) team up with artist Danijel Zezelj (Nostalgia) and colorist Lee Loughridge (Deadly Class) to create a masterfully crafted flip book, housing two enthralling narratives that collide in unexpected ways. In the future, a death penalty will be considered an act of kindness, as covert experiments have forced criminals with multiple life sentences to live all their time to full term. For the 'Casanova Killer,' that means living out the nearly 2,400 years of his 32 life sentences mining on a distant prison planet alongside some of humanity's most heinous offenders. Years pass… Decades turn to centuries, abandoned, the prisoners are shocked to see a ship approaching-filled with thieves hoping that their next big score is on the planet's long dead mine. They have no idea that the prisoners-are still alive. While the prisoners scheme to find a way off planet, the thieves plan the biggest score of their careers. Each issue of 'LIFE' is a flip book, housing one story from two different perspectives. A prison break and a heist both offer interlocking narratives, creating an immersive experience that will challenge your perceptions of justice while begging the immortal question: Who really wants to live forever? For fans of ALIENS, OCEAN'S ELEVEN, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY".
