Hot on the trail of the Hijacker, Leto and Saule set off in pursuit of a suspect who’s been seen at all their crime scenes and as his escape plan takes them deeper into The Irons they uncover more of the mysteries hidden within Madefire‘s dystopian sci-fi world. But will it help them find their killer?

Publisher: Madefire
Writer: Haden Blackman
Artist: Gary Erskine
Price: Free via the Madefire app

The Irons from Gary Erskine and Haden Blackman is probably the most orthodox of the Madefire titles with a look and feel that is very reminiscent of legendary British sci-fi comic 2000ad (no shock considering that it’s artist Erskine’s alma mater!) Each chapter feels reminiscent of 2000ad‘s short and punchy progs, with the action coming thick and fast in this sprawling dystopian future. Erskine’s rendering of this quarantined city is gritty and dirty while also being beautifully rendered and Blackman’s script  balances the dark undertones of his serial killer subplot with the action and adventure needed to make the story move along .

With main characters Leto and Saule investigating the gruesome murders committed by serial killer the Hijacker, episode 3 sees Saule investigate a face in the crowd who is common all their murder scenes and Leto sets off in pursuit. This sequence is a real tour de force of motion comics as Saule’s bionic brain processes the murder scene with images pixellating in and out of the screen and computer elements moving across the page to highlight certain sections. While Leto’s action-packed chase sequence racks up the excitement as she pursues her suspect through the concrete jungle including following him into the underground waterpark via a teleporter. The whole thing is brilliantly done and gives episode 3 a really cinematic sense of action and adventure that is the high point of the series so far.

By contrast, episode 4 is less action packed and innovative, despite Leto continuing her pursuit of the suspect into the waterpark and then on through the packed city streets of The Irons before capturing and confronting him. Once we find out just who the man is that she is chasing the plot begins to twist and turn and so there’s a lot more dialogue in this episode. However rather than utilize a static page for this, (perhaps with just the text animating in) the characters or their point of view are in motion much of the time which feels very distracting. With the characters or their focal point moving around the screen, or coming in and out of focus this can be a little overwhelming and takes away from what should have been a really strong read.

Episode 4 rounds off with the continuation of the subplot featuring the young girl held hostage by the Hijacker since episode 1, which is as unsettling as ever and continues to set the tone for future episodes. Erskine and Blackman have created a really strong world in The Irons and it’s a book we always look forward to reading, but with so much activity on the page, it can make reading it a challenge at times.

The balancing act of when and how to make digital comics move and come to life is a tricky one and just as episode 3 uses it to perfection for the action sequences, so episode 4 overdoes it for the dialogue scenes which takes away from what is otherwise a very strong instalment of this series.