Creed: The Next Round #1 is published by BOOM! Studios, written by LaToya Morgan and Jai Jamison, illustrated by Wilton Santos and coloured by DJ Chavis.
Issue #1 is available 28th June 2023 either directly from BOOM! Studios online or from your local comic book store, digital copies will be available to download from the usual content providers.
Synopsis
The Creed comic book series begins ten years after the events of Creed III. Adonis Creed is out of the ring but not out of the game as he trains – along with his manager-wife Bianca – the next champion—his daughter Amara, now an amateur boxer. But with Adonis and Bianca reluctant to pit their daughter against more dangerous opponents, Amara feels like her career is at a standstill, and she’s hungry for more. Amara will have to find another trainer. Someone who’s not afraid of defying Adonis but still knows how to teach her to fight like a Creed. Who’s up for the challenge of training a young boxer to become the next champion fighter?
Review
In this introductory issue we are seeing what life is like outside the ring for Adonis Creed who has put down the gloves and stepped into the corner of his daughter Amara, the next up and coming boxing talent to come out of the Creed family. Amara is extremely talented and feels like she is ready for the step up, she knows this but her father on the other hand has reservations and is trying to hold her back until the time is right, Amara feels like that time is now she has the skill and the drive but Adonis has seen this before through his own eyes as he went on the same journey and that being the main reason that he is holding Amara back.
But Amara is ready and willing to prove she is ready in whichever way she can and a dubious offer could well be the chance she needs to prove she can do it, but will her father approve?
LaToya Morgan and Jai Jamison take control of the writing bringing an intense story that is charged with emotion from the beginning. Michael B Jordan serves as the creative director for the book which makes the story as a whole feel authentic and true to the successful movie franchise it came from. The edgy feel of the films really comes through in the comic and that makes the story relatable and more realistic and would appeal to most readers but especially the Rocky/Creed fans.
The illustrations hit hard and really brings the theme to the forefront of the readers vision, the bold illustrations from Wilton Santos adds depth to the powerful story that has laid the foundations for the series to come. The colours from DJ Chavis takes the illustrations to the next level and allows the story to organically grow and by the time you reach the end you’ll be hooked into the series that’s for sure.
Verdict
By the look of it we have another great series about to kick off from the BOOM! Studios stable. Being a big fan of the Rocky/Creed films I am especially excited to see where this series is going to go and from first impressions I am definitely looking forward to see what’s coming next.
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