Weekly Comic Book Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (art), Trish Mulvihill & Giulia Brusco (colors), Clem Robins (letters), Mark Doyle & Will Dennis (editors)

The Story: In a dystopian future, a genetically altered man must find a way to live amongst the normal humans.

Five Things:

1.  Dystopian Sci-Fi Future.  Is there any other kind of future in fiction these days?  It’s been awhile since I saw any fiction with the future being peaches and cream, but even if we’ve all seen dystopian futures before, it is always fun to try to figure out what happened because these books all feel like they’re from our future.  Compare that to a comic like the Avengers that supposedly happens now (but it clearly isn’t any “now” that we’re familiar with since we don’t really have superheroes), and in addition to enjoying the story of the comic, you also wonder how did we get from “our” 2011 to this.  When is it?  What happened to make it dystopian?  The journey to find these answers can be almost as much fun as the main plot itself.

2. Story is a little unclear right now.  After one issue, I couldn’t really tell you what this story is about.  There’s this main character who was genetically modified for a mission to mars (which seems not to have happened?).  He seems like a big, strong, ox of a guy, but not too bright and he eeks out a living by scavenging metal and artifacts from under the ocean (since the seas have risen due to global warming).  And, there is a kidnapping of some celebrity couple’s kid that seems loosely tied to our main character until the ending.  So, there are lots of niblets of story here, but it isn’t really clear what the main thrust of the story is.  Some of that could be Azzarello and Risso knowing that fans of 100 Bullets will give them a lot of time to develop their story, but it’s also worth keeping in mind that it wasn’t really clear what 100 Bullets was about until around issue #40.  So, I do wonder how the creators will pull off this story in a 9-issue miniseries.

3. Risso’s art is really unique.  If you’re a fan of comic art you’ll know Risso’s name.  Mostly that is due to his work on 100 Bullets (which is “must read” material), but he’s done some other stuff too.  Risso has one of those styles that is immediately recognizable for his page layouts, faces and distinctive use of shadow.  He’s also incredibly gifted at eyes and giving each character unique eye shapes that speaks to who they are and what they’re up to.  The eyeballs he gives the little girl toward the end of the issue are really creepy.  It’s really masterful stuff and I’m really glad to see him back on a book like this.

4. FLAT COLORS!  Well…I guess they’re not 100% flat, but they’re really close to it.  You have to work to know the colors were done by Trish Mulvihill and Giulia Brusco since the credits page doesn’t have any first names or duties for this list of surnames, but they do a great job.  Flat colors can be dangerous because they give almost nowhere for a mediocre colorist or artist to hide, but if you have an artist of Risso’s caliber and tasteful colorists, this is the way to go!

5. Nu-speak.  Again, calling back to 100 Bullets, we know that Azzarello has a gift for slang-based dialog.  He knows just how to spin the bending of the English-language to enhance the feeling that these characters aren’t just like us.  So, here Azzarello isn’t playing with modern-day urban slang (like in 100 Bullets)…he’s toying with futuristic urban slang.  It’s the kind of thing that could go horribly wrong if it confused the reader, but here is it just unusual enough to be different without being difficult to read.

Conclusion:  It still isn’t really clear what the plot of the story will be, but all of the elements are compelling and it is well written and well drawn.  This is a definite “buy” if you’re a fan of non-superhero comics.

Grade: B

- Dean Stell

 

Filed under: Vertigo Tagged: | Brian Azzarello, Clem Robins, Dean Stell, Eduardo Risso, Giulia Brusco, Mark Doyle, Patricia Mulvihill, review, Spaceman, Spaceman #1, Spaceman #1 review, Vertigo, Will Dennis