A solid start
Curses! I’d promised myself I’d just stick to what was on my subscription list this week, but as I browsed the racks I kept coming back to this book. After flipping through it briefly, I added it to my ever-growing stack of comics. You’d think that by now I’d learn to never look around at new releases if you want to stay within your budget. Oh well. To the review!
It opens with an unknown character who’s taking notes on his/her surrounds and is detailing how disgusted they are with the corruption and neglect they are witnessing. This immediately drew up images of Rorschach’s journal and thus drew a parallel to the in-your-face realism that that series continues to evoke. From here we follow a band called Doomed Earth as they’re practicing a song we presume they’ll soon play. Given that said song is over half an hour long they decide to call this session quit and go their separate ways. We’re then taken to the two female members of the band who’re chilling out on a rooftop having some drinks. As innocent as this setup seems, what follows is a completely unexpected event that gives the rest of the book a both intriguing and suspenseful feel.
One of the most beautifully rendered moments in the book also happens to be one of the most believably brutal that I’ve seen in comics in a while. It depicts the murder of a peeping tom who keeps appropriately creepy albums of those he photographs from afar. There’s, fittingly, no dialogue at all and everything from the panel layout to the colors, and facial expressions sells the scene perfectly. Also, the violence, despite its brutality, doesn’t feel over the top but rather quite fitting and acceptable given the rather creepy opening. Even the mask that the killer is wearing is creepy despite the fact that it’s a smiley face. Here, once again, my mind drifted to Watchmen by means of the Comedian’s trademark smiley face button.
I still don’t know what to expect from this series and I may not keep following it but this was definitely a good first issue that draws you in and makes you question people’s motives towards the end. If you can stomach the linked (be warned it IS graphic) picture and off the beaten path nature of this issue, I’d definitely recommend picking it up. Aside from what’s been mentioned as far as the violence is concerned, the only other minuses for this book is that it feels light for the price and reads fairly quickly. However, this really don’t take away from the reading experience as the story does take you in and the book feels and looks like it’s of high quality. Final score 4/5. Thanks again for reading everyone!
