“Low #1 is one of those rare opportunities in the comic book industry where the quality of Rick Remender’s storytelling and the immaculate nature of Greg Tocchini’s artwork merge together to elevate the medium.”
LOW #1
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Greg Tocchini
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Editor: Sebastian Girner
Release Date: July 30, 2014
We all have that classic favorite pairing of writer and artist: Claremont & Byrne, Lee & Kirby, Wolfman & Perez, so on and so forth…and we all know, deep in our gut, when we pick up a comic book and know, without a shadow of a doubt, that we’re looking at something that’s going to be a big deal, instant classic.
Image Comics’ Low is going to be one of those big deal, instant classics. Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini are going to be one of those classic fan-favorite pairings come hell or high water or, in this instance, very deep water. Set in the very, very distant future, Low depicts an Earth trapped under the oppressive rays of an expanded sun that is dying out whose civilization lives in the deepest recesses of the planet’s oceans. Greg Tocchini’s fluid, surreal style mixed with an array of warm colors is instantly dazzling as Remender unfolds the story of a family whose bloodline and pedigree drives one of the multiple story beats laid out in this fantastically dense first issue.
I don’t know if you know this…but Rick Remender? He’s kind of been kicking a lot of indie Sci Fi ass lately with the launch of Black Science several months ago and even more so with the addition of Low to Images’ current pile of high-quality, top tier creator-owned projects.
One of the main things that keeps me hooked by Remender’s work? His ability to go off the beaten path with his concepts into very original feeling content. Yes, we’ve seen underwater concepts before…but this, this book, it’s like an exotic fish we’ve never seen before and it’s got a very nice set of secret teeth that it’s going to sink into an unsuspecting reader who doesn’t know what sort of good time they are about to experience. The dense, elaborate nature of this concept with all of it’s “so futuristic, it’s alien” technology and terminology has another really great effect that rarely happens with the oh-so-short monthly comic book: it slows the reader down so that they become immersed in the subject matter.
Typically, I burn through a single issue in 8-10 minues. With Low? Between Tocchini’s gorgeous pallet and fluid panel work and all of the rich concepts from Remender’s talented noggin, I think it took me a solid 30 minutes to read the entire issue from front to back. That, in and of itself, is impressive…and I re-read the sumbitch immediately afterward. Tocchini’s style is custom-cut for story set underwater with his soft line work and watery brush strokes. There’s a synergy present in Low #1 that indicates that Rick Remender knows how to write towards Greg Tocchini’s strengths and it shows from start to finish. Low #1 is one of those rare opportunities in the comic book industry where the quality of Rick Remender’s storytelling and the immaculate nature of Greg Tocchini’s artwork merge together to elevate the medium.
