Published by: Image Comics  Â
Issue 13 of Sheltered begins with a moody first page, of heavy darkness and minimal dialogue. This sets the feel for the ‘lucky’ 13th issue of this dark tale of a survivalist compound facing off against the world. Well, the survivalists are their children, who happened to take control of the compound by killing the adults. A ki
nd of society of children armed to the teeth with a lethal arsenal and a poisoned world view. To add to the set up, the situation at Safe Haven has brought the attention of the Federal forces and a stand off ensues.
The bleak, harsh feel to the story is augmented by the gritty feel of the art, lending the story a similar feel to that of the excellent Winter’s Bone. The pencil’s are deliberately bleak and in keeping with the nature of the story, the colors are similarly washed out. The pencils are mostly effective, in particular the set up of the panels is well handled, and the action elements are solid. Unfortunately, there are a number of minor flaws in the art that are noticeable and detract from the book.
In terms of the story, Ed Brisson handles the plot for this issue well. After a tense set up the book moves into the mid section with an exposition of the characters who are central to the story. The handling of the federal agent lead is a little clumsy, the dialogue to show his conflicts is clunky and stereotypical. Faring somewhat better are the kids of Safe Haven. Their resolve and analysis of the situation is logical and balanced. An unfortunate turning point, due to the over-enthusiasm of a combatant of the camp, is organic and realistic.
