Review: Small Town With Big Secrets In ‘Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists #1’
by Malissa White
There are secret places where magic still exists in the world. Hidden places, where alliances forged of necessity protect the human and otherworldly alike. Atlantis County is one such place. Isolated from the world, the town police maintain a delicate balance between quaint Oregon homestead and those that feed on such innocence.
Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists is, in many ways, duplicitous. We, the audience, are tourists ourselves and get to know the landscape through hitchhiker and rambling man, Lucas. After being nearly run down by the Sheriff’s niece after curfew–ordinance, as Sheriff Jensen would insist–Lucas is offered food and a couch at the station. There, we’re introduced to a the town drunk jailed for missing said curfew. Yet, in Jensen’s warm and generous welcome lies a dangerous duplicity Lucas is uniquely equipped to survive. And, it certainly seems like Lucas didn’t simply wander into Atlantis, no matter how many times he says he’s passing through.
Writer Eric Palicki casts Atlantis as a small town with big, terrible secrets. Lucas, handsomely rendered by Wendell Cavalcanti, harbors his own secrets, including a mysterious reptilian gift that should worry the local vampire population. With what appears to be his trademark smirk and easy charm, this rambling man doesn’t seem to be on the run from anything. Which begs the question of what he’s really in Atlantis for. I’m hoping there’s a connection between his reptile-like abilities and Atlantis itself, but I’ll wait to see what Palicki has in store.
Mark Dale does some really cool color work on Cavalcanti’s “deer in the headlights” panels with a believable light wash and deep shadows. I enjoy how awareness and scares are colored in bold yellow shades. They’re eye-catching against the muted night-time palette in the first half of the issue, and work against Lucas’ reptilian green.
Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists #1 hooks readers right from the start. I’m very intrigued with why the Sheriff and deputies would work against members of their own town, and why exactly Lucas seems so keen on sticking around. Those looking for what promises to be an action heavy supernatural comic are in for a treat with this series.
Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists #1 is written by Eric Palicki, with art by Wendell Cavalcanti, colors by Mark Dale, and letters by Shawn Lee. We’re also treated to cover art from Caspar Wijngaard and Natasha Alterici. Get your copy via Scout Comics, or at your local shop!
