DARK EDGE 5 REVIEW

  THE INTRO  It was almost 2 years since the last issue was printed so the excitement was high when I heard that the next instalment of he DARK EDGE franchise was going to be out at the 2013 edition of the LAGOS COMIC CON. However like I have always been since the fourth instalment came out I was again disappointed when the comic did not come out. Somehow this has been the tradition of the comic title since it launched in 1999 with its black and red cover A5 sized comic. I had to wait just 2 more months and the news popped up again on the internet that the fifth instalment of the comic magazine was coming out. I was again excited but this time with caution as I went to the February edition of the Emperors groove hosted monthly by the same publishers, Imperial Creation Studios, to pick up a copy.



 THE PLUS  
And I was not disappointed. The cover concept which was a collage of the two most prominent characters of the 12 part maxi-series comic title and a new entrant called SEDAKE posed on the cover as a reflection in the mysterious bronze blade called the Daggax. The direct imaging printing also brought some good quality to the book and it was worth buying. The graphics all through the comic was on point and I particularly liked the CSR initiative page that advocated that children should be left as children and not sent f early into marriage. The recap of the last 4 editions was also a brilliant idea as after two years many people would have begun to forget he story. The drawing were on point as Ibrahim Ganiyu and Babajide Olusanya depicted the characters and the mood very well. The story written by Ayodele Elegba was impeccable and at a point I almost cried as it reminded me of the good old days when comic stories actually had plots, good dialogue and suspense. I mean what we have nowadays is just cool and action, action, action.

The story was well woven as the interchanging of scenes all through the film made the Dark Edge world more real and believable. This issue focussed more on story than art and I for one think this is a good thing. We need more good stories in today's comics. Should I tell a bit about the story? Well, the story continues with Azim still trying to find himself after saving Peju Owonla. We are also taking back stage into Adeyemi Mapayanfigbas family and we see that the rich definitely also cry and have several skeletons in their cupboard. And I mean that literally. I think I should stop there.

 THE MINUS  
The downside for this comic book apart from the part that it took two years to read was the art and the colouring. You would think after waiting for two years you would see some bad ass art and colours. However the art was just above average and the colours where too bright and was more for a children's illustrated book rather than a dark toned comic franchise like DARK EDGE. The colours where done by three people Stanley Obende, Raphael Kazeem and Mary Momoh so I guess this most have contributed in the contrast colouring style in several of the comic pages. I think the price was also a downside for me. For a 22 page comic book (and 6 pages of advert), I think N 700 ($4) was just too much. If I wasn't a comic fan and had waited so long to see it, maybe I would have decided otherwise on buying. In my opinion I feel the 6 pages of advert should help cover the cost of production hence lower the unit price.

 FINAL NOTE  
Well, I didn’t have any regrets even with the high price. I didn't feel as if I was ripped off or anything like that. I enjoyed the comic book and I read it like three times. This is very unusual for me. This I must say is the second best in the five edition history of the comic book and I was glad to have reviewed it. I would recommend that you go buy. The comic is very durable and should be in your comic library. 

Courtesy: Comicpanel.org

Review Summary

Comic Book	Review Ratings	Reviewers
Dark Edge 5	75%	Kpoto Comics
Dark Edge 5	88%	Observatory Tower
Dark Edge 5	90%	Mangafrique Comics
Dark Edge 5	80%	Comic Panel