Story: Robert Kirkman
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Shawn Martinbrough
The Solicitation
Conrad Paulson lives a secret double life as master thief Redmond. There is nothing he can't steal, nothing he can't have... except for the life he left behind. Now, with a grown son he hardly knows, and an ex-wife he never stopped loving, Conrad must try to piece together what's left of his life, before the FBI finally catch up to him... but it appears they are the least of his worries.
Preview
The Story
Wow, talk about how much more info the solicitation gives you than the actual comic itself. Seriously, I never would have guessed that the comic was about from the story. Hell, the name Conrad Paulson doesn't even appear in this issue. Wife and kids? Just seems like a single, older bachelor who refuses to have sex with his apprentice type person.
Here is what we got in this issue: open the comic with a heist that comes across as somewhat predictable, flash to the past when our two main characters first met, then go back to the present where Redmond tells everyone that he is going to quit being a thief.
The story itself is OK. We get to know at least the thief side of Redmond. Other than a little knowledge that he passes on to Celia (the apprentice) that someone could easily pick up from Youtube, and everyone saying that he is a master planner of some big heist, I don't really connect with the character too much. There isn't the twist here that makes me excited for the character that I haven't seen before in another median.
I get that Kirkman isn't the main writer for things here and he is created as the Story guy and the Creator (interesting...) and I kinda wonder why he passed on the main writing duties to someone else. Interesting to see where this goes.
The Art
Splashy. Somewhat repetitive. By repetitive I mean that some of the same panels look like they were copied over from the previous one with the magic of Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V. I don't mind this being done once or twice in a comic, but when it is used more than that then I begin to wonder about laziness of the artist. It is surprising because I can tell a lot from the facial expressions that each character gives and I like that. It showing me that this artist can tell a story. I can flip through the pages and the story moves on its own with the art.
That last page though. It looks like the arm is just floating there. It is supposed to be this big dramatic moment, and I find it a little funny that the arm is positioned like that.
The Cover
That logo reminds me of something. Like a cross between the hand used in the promotion for Nine Inch Nails Year Zero album and a sorta style pull from a cover to 100 Bullets. Really familiar.
The cover paired with the solicitation works well together. On its own merits, its weird. I can get where it was going, but the figures in the painting throw me off. If his arm is supposed to show the divide between his two lifestyles, why include the masked gun man on the left with his family side?
Grades
Words: 7/10 - dull almost.
Pictures: 7/10 - Just ok. There is some good stuff there, but I need to see a little more.
Recommend: I'm so so on this one. I need some more issues to get where this is going. This has about as much of a good introduction to the characters as some of the DC relaunch books. I almost feel that this is like Batman, there is a bunch of stories that they are carrying over from the previous universe that you should read first. Considering that this doesn't have a previous universe, it is kinda odd.
Buy Next Issue: I bought the first two issue together, so yes. I hope I don't regret it.
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