Tag Archives: letter squids

Do Not Disturb #1 is the start of an interesting murder/mystery that’s a bit Sixth Sense

Posted on by
Do Not Disturb #1

Do Not Disturb is a mystery/thriller with a great supernatural twist, set within an infamous hotel called The Argyle. The story follows private investigator Randall Halsey who has been hired to find a missing young woman, only to realize she (and him) have been murdered. Not letting death stand in the way of solving the mystery, Randall has to maneuver through both the human and supernatural worlds that lay within the walls of The Argyle, traveling through time itself to set things right.

Do Not Disturb #1 is a stand out comic that dives right into its concept, not dancing around and building up a mystery. With a story by David R. Flores and Jarod Hunter, the debut issue doesn’t drag things out, instead making it clear what’s going on and using that quick reveal to explore the world and its rules. But, it also keeps its focus, it’s a murder/mystery all about solving whodunnit.

In this debut issue, Flores and Hunter also set up its main character, Randall Halsey, well. They stick to a lot of tropes but we get a good sense of what type of person he is and more importantly, what type of detective he is. This isn’t one where the backstory is dragged out and we find out later his troubles, it’s right there, he was a crap cop turned detective. But, in the revelation, you also feel a little bad for him too. Yeah, he might not be great, but as he sits there looking at his body and the cops and medics attending to him, he has to hear the commentary and thoughts. We’ve all had negative stuff said about us and when you hear it directly, when not intended, it cuts a little deeper. We can relate to Halsey.

The art by Flores is solid. With color by Lorenzo Scaramella and lettering by Letter Squids, the comic has a cool style that’s a bit Michael Avon Oeming mixed with a dayglow coloring that fits well for the afterlife. This isn’t a comic with flashy art going for memorable splash pages and moments, it’s a detective story with a supernatural twist and the comic delivers that perfectly visually.

Do Not Disturb #1 is a solid debut with interesting premise, it doesn’t drag things out, and it delivers a look that’s rather cool engaging. It knows what it is and delivers what you’d expect and stands out due to that.

Story: David R. Flores, Jarod Hunter Roe Art: David R. Flores
Color: Lorenzo Scaramella Letterer: Letter Squids
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Invader Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Invader Comics

Weird Work #1 kicks off classic noir with an alien look

Posted on by
Weird Work #1

Hard-boiled noir is mixed with the bright, alien-filled worlds in Weird Work #1. Following months of gang shootings, Detective Ovra Sawce is paired with a new partner on a triple homicide. But what were a billionaire’s assistant, a hood-turned-cult leader and Sawce’s former partner doing in that warehouse?

Written by Jordan Thomas, Weird Work #1 is an interesting start to the series. At its heart, the debut is a very typical crime/noir story. There’s a strange murder. There’s a likely corrupt cop. There’s the two detectives dragged in to solve the case, each with a troubled past. The DNA is there of so many stories we’ve seen before with little new or different. The story’s core sticks to the basics.

Where the comic attempts to do something different is with the visuals. With art by Shaky Kane, Weird Work #1 is definitely weird taking place in an alien world where beings with faces that look like buttholes are completely normal as three eyed beings. At times the comic feels like weird for weird sake. So far, beyond some joke comments, the strange world doesn’t add much to the story. It’s just your average noir story with sci-fi visuals. The plot, so far, doesn’t play with or to its alien setting and characters.

And that’s what’s a bit frustrating about Weird Work #1. The comic is entertaining and the art is cool, but it doesn’t deliver anything different. It doesn’t use its alien setting enough, or really much at all, in the narrative. It’s a typical story with atypical visuals for the genre.

Weird Work #1 isn’t a bad debut and those who enjoy the genre should check it out. But, we’ve seen this genre with an alien setting before. It isn’t new and it isn’t different. Hopefully the rest of the series might deliver something a little bit different but for a debut it’s good, but doesn’t stand out.

Story: Jordan Thomas Art: Shaky Kane
Letterer: Letter Squids Design: Daniel Gruitt
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Review: The Eighth Immortal #1

Posted on by
The Eighth Immortal #1

The Eighth Immortal #1 takes us to a Highlander-like world where there’s seven immortals never more and never less, until now. The immortals have over the years had children with regular humans leading to the possible creation of more but one is tasked with preventing that, sucking the essence out that causes the change. That is, until she meets a child who might be the kid she left for dead.

Written by Jake Murray, The Eighth Immortal #1 is an interesting debut with a feel about it that gives it a vibe similar to manga. It’ extends that to the look as well but the story itself feels very influenced by that sort of story.

It’s an interesting debut fused with an emotional telling of the story. There’s a haunting aspect of it all as its clear this is a story about loss and also a questioning of this reality. Through its main character, we get doubts about the status-quo. These seven immortals live their lives and with it comes a disconnection from humanity. There’s also a sense of boredom among them. They act out in ways to make themselves feel anything at all. It brings into question if immortality is worth it and if the way things are should remain?

Alice Li Barnes‘ art is really interesting. There’s a manga influence to it with an almost ethereal quality about it. Mainly in black and white, the debut issue uses color very sparingly to emphasize certain aspects of the storytelling. There’s some fantastic page layouts in the issue changing things up from the standard squares and rectangles. Instead we get the flow of a cloak running through the panels of a page, lots of angles on panels to dramatize the moment, and overall a visually interesting layout to pages. There’s a lot packed in at times but it works.

The Eighth Immortal #1 is a pretty interesting debut comic. It’s focus on drama is a a bit unexpected as well as the comic’s clear manga influences. It’s one I want to see where it goes and what it can deliver from it’s initial groundwork here.

Story: Jake Murray Art: Alice Li Barnes Letterer: Letter Squids
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

Source Point Press provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics