Hard-boiled crime sensibilities mixed with a dream-like quality make “Dead Letters” something unique, but is it enough to hang its hat on? Read on to find out.
Written by Chris Sebela
Illustrated by Chris Visions
Colors by Ruth Redmond
Letters by Steve WandsWHY WE LOVE IT: Here at BOOM! Studios, crime is in our blood. From our comic-turned-feature film 2 GUNS to our critically acclaimed series HIT, we’ve always had a passion for all things noir. DEAD LETTERS is the next step in our exploration of the genre.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT: Creators Christopher Sebela (GHOST, HIGH CRIMES) and newcomer Chris Visions are two fresh voices that are about to take the industry by storm. Don’t miss out on a wholly unique take on crime fiction.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Waking up in a fleabag motel with bandaged arms and a revolver on his desk, Sam doesn’t remember a thing – not how he got here, where here is, or who he is. But the armed men knocking on his door do and Sam will have to use every trick from his forgotten repertoire to outrun and outsmart his way through a hardboiled wonderland of gang wars, femme fatales and big secrets.
A crime book with an amnesiac premise at its center – hardly a shortage of those in storytelling these days. It’s hard to argue that this isn’t a winning premise though. What could bring you back to a story month after month like a central character that has to uncover his history piece by piece along with the reader? That’s the main character, Sam, in this case. He’s woken up in a hotel room and only very vaguely aware of who he is based on the objects around him and his appearance. He doesn’t get a whole lot of time to process things, though, because he’s being chased by people who want to use him for their own yet-unspecified ends. Without spoiling pretty much anything about the circumstances of his existence, that’s “Dead Letters” issue #1. At this point, it’s a thrill-ride, but it’s vague.
So why should you pick up Chris Sebela & Chris Vision’s “Dead Letters”? Well, more than anything it’s the setting that they’ve chosen to place the story in.
More than anything else, Visions & Sebela have created a unique world that readers will want to return to and uncover more of. Without spoiling the whats, wheres, or whys of the world of “Dead Letters”, I’ll just say that its visual style is a mix of 1920’s Prohibition-era gangland and steampunk. Dirigibles fly over rusty industrial cityscapes. The impossibility of the world is intentionally underplayed in the series’ first issue, but when we’re allowed to see it on a grander scale, it is breathtaking in its design. The character designs and costuming are equally impressive and appear to find inspiration in the aforementioned genre & era.
Visions has a loose, scratchy style that seems common in and befitting of the crime-noir genre. Think of Toby Cypress’ recent work on “White Suits” but more restrained. Visions approach is more deliberate and less balls-to-the-wall. As Sebela pieces together Sam’s life in the opening issue, the visual storytelling does a good job of following suit – revealing details of Sam’s life and circumstances as half-memories. The art, as the character and the story are, can be disorienting as well. Before “Dead Letters” reveals more of its world to you, aspects of the art don’t seem to make sense. This is intentional. It all makes sense by the end, but it also definitely invites multiple read-throughs to be truly appreciated.
And man, artists are really doing a good job with car chase scenes these days, aren’t they? Add “Dead Letters” to the pile of kinetic car chase sequences we’ve been seeing lately. Visions does a couple of fun things with perspective to really make these sequences soar. Ruth Redmond’s colors help achieve a moody, violent and ultimately nightmare-like quality to Sam’s journey. She uses a palette dominated by dark browns and reds, mixing in a variety of other colors but sticking with a dark tone. Crime and noir comics tend to work heavily with shading and shadows. That’s a technique that definitely works, but “Dead Letters” achieves a different feel with Redmond, who goes for mood without obscuring or muddying out the details.
Chris Sebela and Chris Visions’ “Dead Letters” feels like a well-worn premise that proves to have some tread left on the tires, thanks to a unique and aesthetically pleasing setting. Crime/mystery comic readers have plenty to choose from on the shelves, but shouldn’t overlook “Dead Letters”, even if its first issue is more promise than it is delivery.
Final Verdict: 7.9 – Buy
