“Tet” #1 is not the kind of war story you’re used to. Forget your Platoons, forget your Apocalypse Nows because Paul Allor and Paul Tucker have created a story that weaves threads of war, mystery, crime and romance into a tale of humanity and it all starts here.
Read on below for our spoiler free review of “Tet” #1 to find out why you definitely should not pass this up.
Written by Paul Allor
Written by Paul Tucker
Eugene Smith is desperate to leave Vietnam behind, and begin a new life with the woman he loves. But when a fellow Marine is brutally murdered, Eugene’s plans are thrown away, forever. Writer Paul Allor and artist Paul Tucker present an extraordinary, heartfelt story of hard-boiled crime and star-crossed romance.
For as long there have been humans, there has been war. One of the first images that really centered that idea in my mind was the shot in 2001: A Space Odyssey where Kubrick fades from the shot of the bone, tossed in the air after being used successfully as the first murder weapon, to one of a space station. All of our greatest triumphs can be traced back to the violence we inflict on each other. “Tet” #1 is a comic set in the heart of the Vietnam War, but as much as it’s a story about war it’s also a murder mystery with the heart of a hardboiled detective story and a poignant look at the scars violence leaves on the human mind. Paul Allor and Paul Tucker kick off a story this issue that is poised to be a very stark look at humanity and the effects of war.
“Tet” centres around Eugene, a soldier stationed in Vietman who has recently transferred to the position of translator after… something happened. Allor and Tucker purposefully keep what happened to Eugene obfuscated from the reader save for a tease with the first page, but we definitely see the effects it has on him. Throughout the issue, Allor and Tucker explore just how much his experiences in Vietnam have taken its toll on him. This is really cemented by a scene that I don’t want to spoil as it was a direction that really surprised me and I want to keep that surprise intact, but it showed a very intimate look at the scars Eugene has and the weight he carries while deepening the mystery of “Tet” in a lot of ways.
Despite it’s setting during the Vietnam war, “Tet” #1 isn’t preoccupied with showing the horrors of war through the violence of the frontlines. Instead, it shows the psychological scars that bubble under the surface during times and places that feel peaceful despite being surrounded by so much violence. The thread of the murder mystery and Eugene’s relationship with his fiance allow Allor to build a sense of dread into his writing. Eugene’s role as a translator in Huế City should be simple, it should be easy, but in this issue Allor presents a series of events that feels like the stacking of dominoes waiting to be toppled.
It might be a cliche to say this, but Paul Tucker’s art in “Tet” #1 reminded me a lot of Joe Kubert’s work. The scratchy quality of the lines Tucker employs that bring a realistic, hard-boiled sense of grit to the world feels perfect for the world of “Tet”. Tucker’s art creates a world out of very sparse details. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone said that Tucker’s style didn’t grab them as the linework sometimes feels low on detail, especially in the faces of the characters, but what Tucker’s artwork excels at is creating a sense of the world. The markets and bars of Huế City and the barracks of the American Military base feel meticulously created and crafted for the page. Tucker’s characters are enigmas, their faces pensive and their eyes often cast in shadows, but the world they inhabit feels grounded and built, line by line, with great care.
This sense of characters as enigmas is something complimented by Allor’s writing. Allor conveys the sense that every character we meet is carrying the mental and physical scars of war, but we never really get a good look at what exactly they’ve experienced. Even the event that caused Eugene to take on the translator role is a mystery left to be unfolded as the series goes on and it creates a complex relationship with the characters as you get invested with them. You can tell that they’re broken or on the verge of breaking under the pressure of the war, but Allor and Tucker keep the violence of the frontlines in the shadows for now.
Overall, I’d say “Tet” #1 is a stellar debut for this series. The way Allor’s writing mixes elements of war, crime, romance and loss creates this tapestry of tragedy that is Eugene’s life and Tucker brings it to life spectacularly. Embodying a style that brings a harsh edge to the page, Tucker clearly shows his work with the close attention to detail he shows in the environments he creates in the issue. Sure, not everyone is going to like the way he draws people, I can already tell, but it’s something I not only got over very quickly, but was able to love by the end of the issue as the style compliments the themes of the story we’ve seen so far.
Final Verdict: 8.2 – Allor and Tucker only hint at the darkness that awaits in this series as the mystery deepens in “Tet” making this a series not to be missed.
