El Momento De Aurora West (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
A prequel for Paul Pope's colorful "Battling Boy" series, this volume offers the backstory for the town's resident crime-fighting family, the Wests. Aurora West is a teenage girl, learning Acropolis' monster-zapping trade from her dad, Haggard, and mourning the decade-past murder of her mother. When a new gang ties a series of heists with that unsolved mystery, Aurora takes some risks to try to crack the case.It's a decent bit of action storytelling, equally rooted in Batman's "World's Greatest Detective" role and the old pulp heroes that inspired Alan Moore's superior "Tom Strong" series. Pope and J.T. Petty pen a nice script. It may be a little light on surprises, but it does a wonderful job establishing the city itself as a major character, overrun as it is with child-abducting monsters whose existence may be tied to a barely-remembered childhood act from Aurora.The black-and-white art by David Rubin is solid as well, although I was disappointed both by the volume's small size and lack of color. Rubin's pencil-like sketchings do a good job of capturing action and emotion. Aurora's face and age seems to wobble a bit between scenes, but overall it's nice.The story does raise some intriguing questions, although I'm not sure if it's poised to answer them definitively. The biggest one for me is whether Haggard West is justified in his eliminationist attitude toward the monsters? Most that fall into his hands are dispatched execution-style. By the finale, it seems Aurora approves of this approach, although it's not quite clear if the creators do. I'd appreciate the reality being more nuanced, even as I realize no society is going to stand for anyone stealing its children.From his attitude toward Egyptian treasures to his approach to crime-fighting, Haggard comes off as a bit superior, with an arrogance that may hurt his cause--and lead to a deadly underestimation of his enemies. Aurora is still learning, though, and the book portrays her with a pleasing openness and definitive drive. I enjoyed the backstory, and I look forward to seeing where it places her in the next volume. Teenager Aurora West is the offspring of Haggard West, a scientist who battles the monsters in Acropolis. As her father involves her more in his missions and teaches his daughter some of the tricks of the trade, Aurora is determined to solve the mystery of her mother's death while holding her own against the villains besetting their city. The panels in this graphic novel are filled with action and wonderfully detailed depictions of the characters and this monster-infested world. While readers might want to read Battling Boy for some background on what's going on, this story manages to hold its own and herald the arrival of a brave new hero. The book's final scenes are riveting, showing how battered up Haggard is and how determined Aurora remains. Despite the fact that she has yet to kill her first monster, she has proven herself.
What do You think about El Momento De Aurora West (2014)?
I have won a copy of this through Goodreads First Reads. A full review will follow.
—bribri
Great story and illustration. The right amount of dread. Dig this universe.
—insane_inertia
the story was pretty interesting but I felt the panels were a bit weak.
—vinitha
