DV8 15 PAGE 5 BY TOM RANEY AND RANDY ELLIOTT

This is a page that passed me over several times over the years, from my first bulk purchase at the Artist’s Choice when it didn’t make the final cut, to some listings here and there on ebay, to finally land it at auction last year.

DV8 was a big deal to me back when due to Warren Ellis’ angry and fun writing (I was an Ellis nut by then already). Basically, an evil version of Gen13 that never reached its older sister popularity despite offering some qualitative entertainment.

Part of which was the young and already quite apt Tom Raney who had a short run on the title following Ramos’ departure.

After their aircraft being blown up by the villain Treshold, the DV8 members are falling in water.

The angle/verticality at which Freestyle enters the water in the the first panel and her facial expression really enhance the violence of the impact.

The second panel sees her super surprised (to the point of letting some precious air out of her mouth) as some scally fingers approach her…

…to discover Evo, the DV8 resident animal shapeshifter, in water dragon/iguana mode coming to her rescue. It’s this splashy image that made me hesitate and in the end purchase this page. I love his water reptilian form as well as the details indicating they are underwater like her wavering hair or his floating 90s pouches.

They then come up for air in the next two panels before Evo dives back to rescue his other teammates. I also really like how Evo’s tail is turning down to indicate he is diving back into rescue action…

…leaving Freestyle being romantically touched that Evo came to rescue her first.

A fun early page from an obviously young artist who already showed he had what it takes to become a great storyteller and artist.

I should also mention how great Elliott’s inks suited Raney and how strong an inker he was. How he spotted his black and white, the slickness of it all…