Impulse purchases have really went away for me in the past few years in terms of comics. I’ve tried really hard to cut back just to what I like, so a concept must really draw me in or it must be a particularly exciting issue for me to grab it. This week saw one of those, as I read about Image Comics’ Shuddertown this morning, looked at a preview this afternoon, and when I went to pick up my comics I had decided to purchase it. In my ever growing desire to expand my comic horizons, this was a risky shot.
Was it a successful one?
Find out after the jump.
Shuddertown #1
WRITER: Nick Spencer
ART AND COVER: Adam Green
The art of the debut issue is a tricky one that many creators simply cannot grasp. It’s one of a very specific blend, sort of like your favorite drink. Take three parts concept, two parts execution, and a little luck and targeted marketing to top it off, and you have yourself a mighty fine concoction. Often one (or all) of those elements are missing and you’re left with a mix that gives you a wicked hangover and keen sense of regret.
Writer Nick Spencer and Adam Green are well versed in this process for the most part, as the debut issue of Shuddertown is one that draws you in with the concept and keeps you around with the execution. Mostly. Well, partially.
This issue finds us introduced to Isaac Hernandez, a detective that has been put upon by a recent string of murders committed by dead people.
Wait…what?
This concept is the big mystery of Shuddertown, and what drew me in initially. It also causes the greatest weakness of this debut, as Hernandez comes across as more than a little crazy at times and feels unreliable in his narration. His tenuous grasp on sanity is never more evident than a four page sequence in which he looks through a bag in his passenger seat (where did that come from and why don’t we know what’s in it?), there is a sporadic flashback to him killing a squirrel with his pet dog when he was little (what the hell?), and then he gets out of his car when someone knocks, and then vomits as that person walks away in the background.
It was completely jarring, especially because the story keeps on going without acknowledging that point. It was like they randomly inserted a scene to confuse us. It harmed the rest of the issue as then the scenes in an apartment complex (where Hernandez talks to a kid who may or may not be a witness to one of these bizarre killings and then confronts a masked attacker) seem to make even less sense by osmosis. Perhaps instead of giving us a scene where he establishes that his lead is crazy, Spencer should have written in a scene where Hernandez decides to go to that apartment complex.
However, I really enjoyed the dialogue and the feel of the book for the most part. Spencer’s got a great ear for conversation, and the scenes between Hernandez and his cop buddy in the strip club are great. Even his narration is intriguing and entertaining, such as the line “Two hours, eight drinks, and three lapdances each, we ignore it. Put this off long as we can.” from when they’re leaving the strip club. He’s got a great voice for it.
The art by Adam Green is an interesting blend of Alex Maleev and Greg Tocchini’s photo realistic, painterly styles. It works well and fits the book, plus he gives the book a solid atmosphere. The only problems with the art come from the fact that it’s so dark that it is occasionally hard to comprehend what is going on, and then there are serious gaffes in scene design. It’s a pretty book, just not a well told one visually speaking.
Overall, Shuddertown drew me in with the concept and kept me with the execution. There are some serious WTF moments (not in a good, Warren Ellis sort of way) and some artistic flaws, but it hooked me enough to pick up the second issue. We’ll see how it goes from there, but Shuddertown is a bit of a mixed bag at its start.
Final Verdict: 6.8 – Browse
