“Breakneck” #1

“Breakneck” #1 is first issue in a brand-new series from Titan’s Hard Case Crime imprint. The issue follows Joe Hayward, a man who goes to confront the man he thinks his wife is cheating on him with, but stumbles into a terrorist plot. Is this issue the high-tension noir story that it presents itself as, or is it more like its main character Joe, stumbling unwittingly through its plot?

Written by Duane Swierczynski
Illustrated by Simone Guglielmini and Raffaele Semarao
Colored by Lovern Kindzierski and Chris Chuckry
Lettered by Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
A countdown thriller in modern-day Philadelphia, perfect for fans of 24, Homeland and Falling Down.

When everyman Joe Hayward confronts his cheating wife, he stumbles on a terrorist plot. With just two hours to save Philly, Joe needs all the help he can get – even the government agent sleeping with his wife.

From celebrated crime and comics author, Duane Swierczynski (Deadpool, The Punisher, The Wheelman).

Illustrated in dynamic seedy detail by Simone Guglielmini (Near Death), Lovern Kindzierski (Animal Man) and Raffaele Semarao (Zombie With A Shotgun).

“Breakneck” #1 opens in media res, with the main character, Joe, on his way to beat up the man he thinks is sleeping with his wife. It’s on this first page that we get the first three of the many different styles of captions that are included in this issue. First, there is a caption telling the reader the setting. Then, there is a caption counting down an amount of time until everyone dies. Finally, there is the narration, in second person, addressing you, the reader, as if you are Joe. Each of these different captions has a different style, and letterer Jimmy Betancourt is able to differentiate between these different styles of captions quite well. Betancourt makes sure that these different styles of captions are never confusing to a reader, even when their contents isn’t especially thrilling.

With all these different styles of captions, and all the different types of information given to the reader in this first issue, it begs the question of how much of it is necessary. There is, later on in the issue, a specific style of caption boxes used only in two panels of the issue, devoted solely to giving names to different types of cheese and sex toys. Choice that just feels strange, more than anything else. Sure, it is meant as a gag. But it’s not an especially funny joke. And it begs the question of why the point of view character would know the names of all these objects.

This is a problem with Duane Swierczynski’s script throughout. It’s full of unnecessary details, both in the different types of captions, like the unneeded labels, and the narration that is running through the script. The narration is over the top, but not in a good way. Second person narration is a tricky thing to nail. It’s an interesting device, to try to put the reader into the main characters shoes, to hopefully create empathy. But the narration in “Breakneck” #1 is so openly hostile to its main character, and by extension the person reading it, that it’s just uncomfortable to read.

There are moments in the issue where it feels like Swierczynski really hates his main character. Which makes it hard to get through, as so much of the issue is filled with these caption boxes, explaining how Joe is looking at the world, or giving exposition. There is quite a bit of exposition, and t’s hard to get through because it feels like it’s both directed at you, and that the author hates your guts.

The art, by Simone Guglielmini and Raffaele Semeraro isn’t enough to make up for the rest of the issue. “Breakneck” #1 is an issue that is mostly action, with caption boxes explaining the plot. Unfortunately, the action isn’t especially thrilling. The figures throughout the issue are a bit stiff, but during the action scenes this becomes especially apparent. There’s not a lot of life or movement to the characters. In many cases, it looks and feels like people posing for a photo, not living human beings in motion.

There are some parts of the art that work quite well. Shadows are used throughout the book to give everything a slight noir feel. It’s subtle, found in the way that book is inked and the heavy shadows that the coloring brings to some scenes, but it works very well. It’s not over the top, if you aren’t looking for it, these shadows don’t stand out more than they would in the real world. But they help to establish a mood that serves this book well. It’s a mood that the rest of the book could honestly use a little bit more of.

One of the strangest parts of “Breakneck,” is that structurally, it feels like two issues slammed together, and released as a single, extra long debut. There is a moment right in the middle of the issue where the narration seems to trail off into a cliffhanger. Then on the next page, there is an establishing shot and caption of where the location is, and the issue picks up where the previous page left off. It feels like they realized they didn’t get through enough of the exposition in the first issue, so they crammed issues one and two together into on extra long debut, without making any changes. Mostly, it just feels a bit sloppy.

Over all, “Breakneck” just doesn’t come together. The narration is too openly hostile to both the reader and the main character. The art, in an issue with plenty of action, feels too stiff and lifeless. There are the beginnings of an interesting story, with the main character Joe stumbling into a plot far beyond his understanding. But this issue doesn’t provide a compelling enough case as to why a reader should stick around for the next issue.

Final Verdict: 5.5 – While there might be a good idea underneath the odd storytelling choices, “Breakneck” #1 just ends up feeling a bit too sloppy.