Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Gabriel Hardman, Corrina Bechko
Artist: Gabriel Hardman
Release Date: 23rd December 2015

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After a pretty action packed last issue, Invisible Republic settles back into a more familiar rhythm in issue eight, focusing on Maia’s continued attempts to persuade Croger Babb to give up the private journal, and listen to her less personalised version of events. Babb’s steadfast reluctance to stay is tempered, but the bag containing the journal appears to be in the possession of another reporter, if I’m correctly understanding the mirroring of composition and framing between page three and the last. Back in the past, Maia’s growing resentment at the hypocrisy being displayed, and the seeming lack of action has made her more dangerous to the then burgeoning regime, explaining the reason for her subsequent imprisonment by Arthur.

Right from the first issue, the writers have utilised the same dual narrative structure, and to be honest, I have always felt it necessary to have both in order to fully understand and appreciate the legion subtle intricacies. Invisible Republic is not the kind of story you can drop into blind and expect to fully comprehend. It’s a densely detailed world filled with nuanced, multi-layered characters, none of whose motivations you can truly know or trust. Corrina Bechko’s ever-insightful addendums add greatly to the depth of the book as a whole, too, and her influence is abundantly clear in the richness it adds to the world. It’s also been interesting to see the Arthurian symbolism I alluded to in my review of the first issue become a more prominent part of the narrative.

One of the series’ great strengths has been its art. Gabriel Hardman knows how to tell a story visually; specifically, where to draw and hold your attention. There’s a very deliberate pace to this issue, and he uses some nice compositional techniques to have your eye linger just where he wants it. The deep, sketchy inks create a tense, dangerous, and thoroughly unpleasant world with many shades of grey, reflected in Jordan Boyd’s choice of a muted, grimy colour palette almost entirely devoid of colour. It’s only when looking to the past that we see any hint, but the low-key copper-toned flashbacks of previous issues are replaced by the same greyish-blue hue this time around.

The second arc of Invisible Republic is now in full flight, and if you haven’t yet checked out this absorbing series, you really owe it to yourself to get on-board.

Rating: 4/5.

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The Writer of this piece was: Martin Doyle
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You can check out more of Martins reviews and thoughts on random retro things over at Retromuse

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