The Visitor #5 Spotlight: Coloring

 

The Visitor Cover A by Amilcar Pinna

In The Visitor #5, Ulises Arreola flexes his coloring muscles on the very first page. You can't help but gasp at this full page shot of The Visitor staring down at this forest-wreathed compound.

Notice the glowing lights of the security vehicles? Can you hear their sirens?  

WEE-OOH-WEE-OOH-WEE-OOH!

While penciler and inker Soo Lee likes to draw in her shadows, Ulises Arreola has enhanced them. I also like how he's aged the top of the air conditioning unit, and scuffed its sides. Somebody ought to send a custodian up to clean that air conditioner.

Artists work hard to get their light sources right. In the next panel, the evening sun shines down from low in the sky, brightening up the trees in the distance. The colors, still washed in yellow, grow darker as the light approaches The Visitor. Ulises also adds a few glints of reflected light to The Visitor's jacket.

Ulises then shows us The Visitor's perspective from down in the round planter bed. Interestingly, the sky mimics the color palette he uses for the grass, trees, and bushes. I'm guessing he's also swooshed-in the white contrails of the planes. 

 

 

The white glow, enhanced by blue, adds personality to the strange mask The Visitor wears. The glow reminds me of the way Shadowman's power dissipates off him, only in black.

I also like how the edges and folds of his jacket are highlighted by the horizontal rays of the setting sun. 

Okay, get up, Visitor. You can relax when your chores are done!

Tired of The Visitor hogging the spotlight? Well, he is the title character. Still...

Here's a sneak peek of our gal Talia Dauber. In this scene, she's literally glowing from within. Even her pupils are obscured! To find out why (and how) the United Nations Security Agent is having this illuminating moment, stop by your local comics shop and pick up The Visitor #5.

Or maybe I'll mention something about it in my review. You know, when I get around to writing it.

In The Visitor #5, Ulises Arreola uses color and light to add depth and interest to Talia and The Visitor's story. Could this comic be told in black and white? I suppose. Still, it would be so much less without the beauty Ulises contributes to each page.

Dragon Dave