A Fresh Coat Of Paint On Hell: ‘Ravencroft’ #1 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
Misty Knight has gotten a job with the rebuilt Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane. She is reporting to her superiors at the shadowy organization for whom she truly works. She tells of how John Jameson, aka Man-Wolf, got a job at Ravencroft through Mayor Wilson Fisk. Norman Osborn has also gotten a job at the Institute and seems to have some influence upon John Jameson as well. We are also shown an instance in which Mr. Hyde tried to take John Jameson hostage and Misty Knight is forced to resolve the situation with her bionic arm. Finally, we are shown the new board of the rebuilt Ravencroft Institute.
Ravencroft #1 is less of a story than a new status quo for the rebuilt Ravencroft Institute. We are shown Misty Knight’s new role in the organization as well as her evaluation of other major players at Ravencroft.
Despite the lack of much forward-moving story, it is still a fairly enjoyable read. We get an idea of what it is like inside the Ravencroft Institute at this point in time. Misty Knight is, as always, quite badass–we get to see her dominate Mr. Hyde with ease. We don’t learn whom she works for, leaving us to wonder if S.H.I.E.L.D has reformed to some capacity.
The characters running the new Ravencroft are fairly surprising, and yours truly is left to hope that these characters might receive a team ongoing after Ravencroft is over.
Angel Unzueta provides great artwork throughout the issue. The book has many striking and highly detailed scenes which add to the overall unnerving and threatening atmosphere of the book. There are some moments which land in the uncanny valley, particularly ones including Kingpin and Norman Osborn, but those are few. Rachelle Rosenberg and Dono Sánchez–Almara team up for the color art of the book and they give it an aptly ominous color palette.
Ravencroft #1 lays down a solid groundwork for the rest of the series. We learn what the new Ravencroft Institute is like and are left to wonder what will occur inside the institute in the coming issues. It’s a solid read and earns a recommendation. Check it out.
Ravencroft #1 comes to us from writer Frank Tieri, artist Angel Unzueta, color artists Rachelle Rosenberg and Dono Sánchez-Almara, letterer VC’s Joe Sabino, cover artist Kyle Hotz with Dan Brown, and variant cover artists Kim Jacinto with Rain Beredo; and Ryan Brown.
Final Score: 8/10
