Monstro Mechanica #1 Review: Man Made Madness

By Nolan P. Smith

If there is one thing I can say about AfterShock Comics, is that they deliver in the form of diverse books. From the animals rule the world story of Animosity to a Teddy Roosevelt super group with Rough Riders, they know how to create diverse, high quality books. With their latest series, we follow another historical figure, Leonardo Da Vinci in Monstro Mechanica.

From writer Paul Allor and artists Chris Evenhuis and Sjan Weijers, we get a story full of secrets, intrigue, and genius. Da Vinci and his assistant Isabel are extremely likeable characters and play off of each other well. Da Vinci being the confident, smart, almost smug man, and Isabel being a breaker of the female stereotype for the time period they are in. But we mustn’t forget the wooden creation Da Vinci created as well, which saves the inventor in the first few pages. Will his creation become his undoing? Or will Da Vinci’s own intellect be the key to his downfall?

Allor crafts a great debut issue here. The chess board is set, the characters are in place, now as we wait for madness to shatter the status quo. The artwork here is amazing: Evenhuis and Weijers create stunning, fluid visuals here, with fantastic designs and spot on colors that make the artwork leap off of the panels. I absolutely love the artwork, as it looks and feels like one of the best books of 2017.

I have always loved the tales of Da Vinci, and with Monstro Mechanica, we get a book worthy of the inventor’s name. AfterShock does it again, creating a book that offers a break from the mainstream crossovers, and does so with a fantastic story. Pick up this book, it is well worth the read. ‘

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.