Fox And Hare #1 – Jon Tsuei, Stacey Lee, Raul Angulo, Jim Campbell
Coming from Vault Comics on 25th May, Fox and Hare #1 is a bold, bright and beautiful tale of corruption, intrigue and revenge. Opening 25 years before the events of the main book, with the meeting of Kita and Keza, a pair of children waiting for the return of their missing parents, before time-jumping to a sci-fi future filled with glorious and terrifying neon drenched adventures.
Cyberpunk Aesthetics
The artwork of Fox and Hare #1 is stunning, whether the up-close and personal character moments, or the explosive action sequences, this book grabs hold of you from the emotional first page and drags you along for the ride. Stacey Lee (Dial H For Hero, Doctor Aphra) brings real depth to the rain-soaked streets of Mazu Bay, and you feel the chill of the young children waiting for their missing elders. Their adult iterations may be more streetwise, and far more capable of looking after themselves, but they are no less beautiful to look at for it.
Lee’s artwork is perfectly complimented by the colour work of Raul Angulo (Power Rangers, Buffy), who utilises neons and bold, punchy colour palettes to bring the artwork to the next level, and the use of dynamic panel layouts is outstanding. When the lettering of Jim Campbell is layered over the top then entire book is escalated to a different plane. This is an art team working wholly in sync with one another, and is creates the type of first issue that many creators dream of putting out. Stylish, exciting and innovative, the issue is a headlong flight into the story of Kita and Keza, along with the variety of individuals they meet on the way.
Classic Revenge
Jon Tsuei (Sera and the Royal Stars) weaves a story that is a once personal and universal – the desire to belong, the need for family (whether birth or chosen) and the need to fight against the injustices of the world. Alongside the titular heroes – if you can call tech-powered mercenaries ‘heroes’ – we met their support network, and the young hacker who has gotten out of their depth, along with a greedy politician who thinks he knows better than the people of this city. I am very much looking forward to future issues and (hopefully) seeing him brought down a peg or ten.
That these are all characters and themes that can seem familiar to me, a white, middle class woman in England, whilst being based in a neo-futurist Asian-city filled with bio-tech and enhanced weaponry, speaks to the power and skill of Tsuei’s writing. He weaves a narrative that is gripping from the get-go, and every page had me eager to spend more time with the cast of characters.
Final order cut off for Fox and Hare #1 is April 25th, so let your local comic book store know if you would like them pre-order you a copy!
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Jon Tsuei – Writer
Stacey Lee – Artist
Raul Angulo – Colourist
Jim Campbell – Letterer
Tim Daniel – Designer
Adrian Wassel – Editor
Vault Comics – Publisher
