Cloudia & Rex #1 Review **Spoilers**

Cloudia & Rex #1 of 3

Story & Art by: Ulises Farinas, Erick Freitas, Daniel Irizarri 
Publisher: Buno Books, Lion Forge
Release Date: July 5, 2017
Cover Price: $3.99
Review by: Ryan Douglas
 
NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into jumping on the series. Lately, I’ve been following this entire teams IDW’s Judge Dredd ongoing series. It’s one of those things where I keep an out eye for the next project and go in blind. That method can either pay off or be a dud, in this case, this mini-series has my attention.

Gods living above the mortal world, are dealing with their own apocalypse, as Seraphim believes it’s time there should be one God to rule all. Several gods led by Death, come up with a plan to save their existence from being erased. That’s where Cloudia and Rex come into the picture and we get a glimpse into their current life. Moving across of the country with their mother, Cloudia hasn’t come to terms with the move and acts out. But when the god’s above make their escape down to the mortal world, we’re shown the origin in which will change the character’s lives. The characters briefly get reacquainted with their transformation and the new world they’ve arrived on. We quickly learn that Seraphim has sent an all new God to destroy Cloudia, Rex and the mortal gods who’ve made Cloudia’s soul their new home.

The first issue provides the origin story molding the worlds together and introducing our two main characters. The stakes are high and I have a lot of excitement to see the two sister’s face off against the giant God, Seraphim has sent. Not only that, seeing the person Cloudia becomes at the end of this, has my eye’s peeled to the page. They do a great job of nailing the characteristics of an angsty teen dealing with moving away and the family around her. There’s a lot of intriguing elements brought in, which leaves a lot to learn about this world. With only two issues left, I’m left wondering how the balance of action, development and world building will play out.

You don’t need dialogue when the art's this gorgeous and tells you the story through its drawings. I could stare at these page for hours, the amount of detail, along with the colors, only enhances my journey between these two worlds. The panel layout gives plenty of room for the art to provide a natural flow, giving us a good chunk of story to tell.

This is the book you need to grab if you're tired of seeing the same old faces save worlds from brainwashed allies. A super strength girl and her rhinoceros sister must take on their biggest challenge yet. Sounds pretty awesome and an example of not forcing diverse characters onto readers.

Bits and Pieces:
 
A family transitions from tragedy into a world where they will have to face off against monstrous gods, saving the existence of the immortal world. An amazingly drawn, well written issue to set up the overall plot and the origin story for our colorful superheroes we'll follow through the miniseries.

8.5/10