Ravencroft: Institute for the Criminally Insane #1

Ravencroft: Institute for the Criminally Insane #1 (see below for preview images)

Writer: Frank Tieri
Artist: Angel Unzueta
Colorists: Rachelle Rosenberg, Dono Sánchez-Almara
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
 
Cover Artist: Kyle Hotz & Dan Brown
Variant Cover Artists: Kim Jacinto & Rain Beredo, Ryan Brown
 
This is going to be an interesting series, to say the least. Allow me to demonstrate by creating a mental image for you.  Picture this:
 
Ravencroft (just the name is eerie, is it not?).  The mental prison hospital where all the really crazy bad guys and psycho villains are incarcerated.  Now, apparently this place has long existed.  But something happened and now it has been rebuilt, to the max.  No holds barred; no expense spared.  Top of the line and state of the art all the way, through and through, top to bottom.
 
At this psycho sicko pizza party works one Mercedes “Misty” Knight.   She’s been a police officer; something called a Daughter of the Dragon and a Hero for Hire.  (Sounds pretty positive to me.)  Her actual position hasn’t totally been fully defined yet, but she seems to be like some sort of administrator/counselor to the inmates.  This job not only allows her to interact with prisoners and staff, she also acts as eyes and ears for whoever it is that is running this crazy carnival.
 
This includes keeping her sights on Security Consultant Agent John Jameson.  Here’s where I get a little confused.  Jameson is the Security Consultant but he’s also attending group therapy sessions at the hospital with the other inmates looking for reform.  And boy, are they a bunch to behold.  There’s this one guy they call Grizzly, he got his ass spanked by Ant-Man and now he’s having some sort of emotional and mental breakdown because of the slam to his ego and his masculinity that follows being whooped on by an insect that people literally flick off of themselves like little specks of disease.  So, Grizz is feeling a little down in the dumps.
 
But it’s not so much the inmates at this prison that are the problem.  It’s also the staff.
 
THE END
 
Amazingly, this was one of those first issues that made you immediately feel the need to read issue two.  So, I did.  Review for that will be coming shortly.  Unfortunately, not a lot happens in this first issue, it’s an intro issue.  So, we just get to meet the characters and see where it’s all going to go down.  I have to admit though, I think this is gonna be wild.  We’ve got some interesting characters making some major appearances here.
 
I liked this issue.  I wish it moved a little faster but it’s an introductory issue, you know how those can go.  So, here shortly I’ll have the review for #2 posted and that will give you a little more information about the story.
 
Now, for the writing itself.  It’s great.  I also love the way Marvel gives you little reference boxes telling you where to refer to if you want to see when that particular character/plot story line got its first appearance. 
 
The artwork is pretty damn good guys.  I like it, I gotta tell ya.  The covers are different than the inside artists but they still draw quite the eye.  The color palette is fairly muted.  The colorists seem to use the more vibrant colors for impact and emphasis, rather than just using them for striking color and flashiness on the pages.  I’m really excited to see where this series is heading.  A bunch of criminal maniac villains all locked up in one place.  What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
 
RATINGS
Overall 4/5
Artwork 4/5
Story 4/5

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