Thanks to Max Bertolini’s outstanding character designs and beautifully rendered setting, “Second Chances” #1 overcomes a formulaic start to deliver a solid debut. (Warning: may contain minor spoilers.)
Cover by Max BertoliniWritten by Ricky Mammone
Illustrated by Max Bertolini
Lettered by DC HopkinsSecond Chances Hotline—call now and get a new identity! All you need is some cash, a proper referral, and a very good reason to start over. When Leblanc, the man behind the hotline, is approached by a shady figure from his past, he’s forced to accept a new client who doesn’t meet any of the requirements—a client with chemically induced amnesia in desperate need of protection. Up-and-coming writer RICKY MAMMONE and artist MAX BERTOLINI (The Witcher, Nathan Never) explode onto the scene with this psychedelic, action-packed, bizarre noir that feels like John Wick punching through an existential French New Wave fever dream.
“Second Chances” #1 begins and ends with a phone call. It’s a pretty standard noir trope in what proves to be a pretty standard intro – noir or otherwise. Once the first scene is behind us, however, things head in a different direction. The familiar elements are all there, but it’s not the same old script. We think we’ve seen it all before, but we haven’t.
The story is built around a jaded first person narrator named Leblanc. He smokes, wears a fabulous untucked shirt beneath his suit coat, speaks in short, clipped sentences and has spectacular, perfectly unkempt hair. He also runs the titular Second Chances. Much like the name implies, “with the right amount of cash, a referral and a good reason to start over,” Leblanc can give you a new life. The catch is there are no third chances. “Once you fake your death, there’s no going back.”
For the reader, the rules are firmly established. The implication, of course, is that things won’t be that clean and simple for Leblanc’s current client: a perennial fuck-up named Paul. Though we’re told the two men haven’t spoken in over a decade, the dialogue between them sounds like they just chatted yesterday. I get that Leblanc fully knows Paul will call out of desperation some day, but Leblanc is so unfazed by Paul’s call it feels like the date and time were pre-scripted. On the other end of the line, Paul’s lines sound equally rote as he says, Tell Mary I love her, blah, blah, blah.
The most refreshing aspect, by contrast, is the book’s self-referential structure. As the action-packed opening sequence hurtles toward its climax, writer Ricky Mammone blatantly hits the pause button and leaves us hanging. Instead, Leblanc interrupts to tell us how it all works. The two-page flashback that follows is both wonderfully placed and spot-on in length. When the real-time story resumes, Mammone cleverly cuts away from the central action to introduce a separate plotline and two more characters: Paul’s adult daughter Emma and a disconcertingly mysterious woman who goes by the moniker Miss Nobody. It’s an unexpected twist that yanks us away from noir and throws us somewhere else. We don’t yet know where that is, but we know we have to find out.
Artistically, Max Bertolini’s realistic black and white illustrations underscore the book’s noirish tone, while also giving it an anachronistic edge. Leblanc’s office phone is straight out of the 1930s, flanked by a desk lamp that looks like a Tiffany knock-off. Paul’s apartment building has an Art Deco façade, while nearby zeppelin hangs in the sky. There are also computers and email and an array late model cars that appear to span several decades. It’s definitely not Steam Punk, but it’s clearly ahistoric – tantalizingly familiar yet wholly unique.
In addition to Bertolini’s command of retro Modernist styles, his character designs are outstanding. Visually, there are no minor characters. He humanizes an unnamed homeless woman who only appears in four frames as much as he does the core characters. With a gap-toothed smile, gentle eyes and an arthritic hand, it’s a design that feels equally respectful and accurate. She’s not a throwaway character. Her role in the story is small, but she leaves a lasting impression and helps make the world of the story all the more believable.
Of the four core characters, the standout is Miss Nobody. With stiletto heels, leather pants, long straight hair and a bare midriff, she’s sexy, self-assured and full of swagger. It’s clear her role is about to get bigger and that bodes well for the series. Whether friend or foe, she’s the kind of character we’re drawn too immediately. She looks like the perfect foil for Leblanc, but it’s still unclear. Either way, so far, her presence is magnetic.
Final Verdict: 8.1 A clever plot twist and great art combine to make “Second Chances” a series worth keeping an eye on.
