Written and Illustrated by…well, see below.
In part two of this fast, funny 100% cool new series for readers of all stripes, Hollywood starlet Rachel Maddox plots with her A.A. Sponsor “Johnny” to steal a big pile of dirty money from her shady action star husband, Bruce. What she doesn’t know is that “Johnny’s” a hit man, Bruce wants her dead and her brother Billy just made a deadly deal with a psycho mobster called Tony Luciano!
One of Image’s four #2 issues this week (which, as I mentioned in my Undying Love review yesterday, is often the selling issue for me), Blue Estate is a noir-esque comic with a ton of contributors. I mean, a ton. We Do Viktor Kalvachev and co. pull it off, or is this an instance of too many cooks inhabiting the same kitchen? Follow the cut and find out.
For those of you who aren’t in the know regarding the creative process behind Blue Estate, here’s a brief synopsis of how it works (from my outsider observations, at least):
- Viktor Kalvachev and Kosta Yanev come up with their story.
- Andrew Osborne translates that story into a script.
- Kalvachev then does the layouts, and decides who illustrates what pages/panels.
- Kalvachev and three other artists (Toby Cypress, Nathan Fox, and Robert Valley) illustrate the same comic.
- Kalvachev then adds the final touches (lettering, coloring, etc).
- Somewhere behind the scenes where we average readers can’t notice him, Philo Northrup does his editing business.
Complicated, no? This was the first thing I knew about Blue Estate, so I approached it with a bit of wariness at first. And can you blame me? The more people you involve in the creative process, the more likely it is you’re original goal could be warped.
Thankfully, this doesn’t happen to Blue Estate, and I think this can easily be attributed to Kalvachev’s role as artistic director and designer. As both art director and one of the story creators, he is able to keep tabs on Osborne’s adaptation and change things when necessary without seeming like he’s stepping on too many toes. Kalvachev also knows that his artistic team may have some similarities, but they still are unique artists with particular talents. As such, Kalvachev sticks them in areas of the story where they will do best, and makes sure to lead from one artist to another with a particular visual trick. Let me explain it this way: you know how when someone explains a story to you, you visualize it a certain way, only having to modify your visualization when the story takes a different direction in order to fit it better? That’s what Kalvachev seems to be doing with the talented team at his disposal, and he’s doing it well. Think of it as the Wu-Tang Clan’s collaborative effort applied to comics, if that makes more sense to you (though it probably makes even less).
Blue Estate is written in quite an interesting manner, too. I seem to be full of cross-medium comparisons this week, but I think I’ll make another one by likening this comic to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Not to say that Blue Velvet is ripping the Shane Black flick off in anyway, of course; I mean more to point out the similarities in the rapid-fire, going-so-fast-you’re-not-exactly-sure-what’s-going-on pace of the plot. I don’t mean this as a bad thing, either. The rapid jump from scene to scene promises the reader that something exciting is going on, and challenges us to keep up if we can in a most endearing way. By the second issue, we already have more plot threads than I can count on one hand, and I can’t wait to see how they mix and match over the course of the series.
My only gripes about this issue in particular? First, the energy that I so loved when reading both issues in one sitting wasn’t as present in the second issue as it was in the first. It still moved pretty quickly for your average comic, but in comparison to the first issue, it was a slug. Second, for a comic that so far has had every scene end in a cliffhanger, this issue didn’t end with much of a hook to get us into the next issue. I think this could have easily been fixed if the fight scene at the end had been cut by a page or two; five pages is a bit much for a couple of idiotic drunks reciting Charlie Sheen quotes. I shouldn’t need to tell myself “well, next issue we’ll probably see how all these collapse together,” the final page should hint at that.
We’re only two issues into this series, but even though I might have some criticisms for this issue, I think this is going to be an incredibly fun series once it’s finished. Despite the disparaging remarks I had, this issue still retained much of the (admittedly twisted) charm of the first issue, and I am quite excited to see what comes next – though this issue hints that this may be a comic that will read better in trade. Still, if you don’t buy it in singles, it won’t make it to trade, and this comic is too good for that. Blue Estate is an exciting endeavor that really toys with common conceptions of how comics are made, and should not be missed.
Total: 7.6 – Buy it!
