Silver Vessels from Mad Cave’s Maverick imprint brings out a decent coming-of-age story by Steve Orlando. Thanks to the expressive faces and backgrounds that give the Florida Keys life, it feels like summer vacation. But it’s offset by a group of pushy villains.
Silver Vessels: What Is The Plan Here?
Between two conflicting synopses in the PR and the back of the book, a treasure hunt is the focal point. But it seems that the metaphorical treasure hunt has more going for it than the actual one. It’s like this, the lead character Josh doesn’t just want to make history, he wants to make memories with his friends before high school. They each have worries and things they need to get off of their chests. Josh can’t help but feel like they’re going to drift apart and he’s been getting feelings for one of them. Another friend Hunter feels the same way, but is worried about how to go about it. Hope meanwhile has a bit too much going on, not sure if they’re initial plans and the current ones were right for them.
These are compounded by Josh’s grandfathers. Initially, Josh didn’t see much of them due to his father. So finding a treasure, doing it with friends, and reconnecting with family feels good on paper. Any reader can get on board with this setup, especially since the grampas aren’t stupid. They set up rules, empathetic to the teens struggles, and try to give leeway. These seesawing effects are very relatable, because who hasn’t fumbled around trying to perfect a setup? This was the kind of treasure hunt that readers can genuinely enjoy.
Too Sharp Noses
But as much as Steve Orlando can craft character studies with down-to-earth situations, some outlandish villains interrupt that. This Apex group of elitist hunters have a lot of potential other than as foils for our main trio. Especially when they could have been a more explicit way of showing some of Josh’s grandfather’s struggles. It’s a Florida thing. Instead they’re an Illuminati type of group whose reach is so over-the-top, it feels like a joke. Plus the way they interact and react to everything around them is rather dull. This group feels like they did not need to be here at all.
Keys To Excitement
The scenery of the Florida Keys gets a beautiful render by the artist Katia Vecchio. She makes the town the teens are in feel like it’s larger than life with wide panels showing off its monuments. But even more than that is the hidden wonders that reveal themselves in big splash pages full of fantastic creatures. This way readers feel the amazement our heroes are going through.
As for the mundane panel transitions, they’re just as important when in juxtaposition with lettering. Like when Josh has to explain to his grandpa Matt what’s going on while playing off his friend’s cover story. But he already told what really happened to his other grandpa after they had a discussion about coming clean to Matt. Ivan’s silence as he was biting into his dinner says more about his disappointment than anything.
But Dave Lanphear’s lettering can be a little off sometimes, like when they connect with Hunter when the dialogue says that Josh is speaking. Or when the Apex are talking to each other and the word balloons aren’t connecting to anyone.
Silver Vessels: A Journey With A Shaky Destination
Silver Vessels is a imaginative coming-of-age story about friends and relatives fumbling around to reconnect. But the idea that starts it all, a treasure hunt celebrating the Florida Keys and its history is offset by lame villains. Not to mention it feels like some of these elements get in the way of a few micro plots. Like how or why some treasures are so important? Or what struggles did Matt and Ivan go through between Josh’s father and the state? So for lacking a proper direction, I have to give this OGN 6.5/10.
Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.