Thursday, June 21, 2007

Review #2

From Comic Book Resources where we are, apparently, #1 on the Buy Pile.

THE BUY PILE FOR JUNE 20TH, 2007

Highwaymen #1 (Wildstorm/DC Comics)
Jump from the Read Pile.
From the very first page, the best adjective for this comic book is "gripping." Like the first issue of the lauded Warren Ellis mini "Red," plans within plans trigger plans within plans, and the old guard left machinery in place -- in the form of people, here -- to make sure that old business stayed historical. The lead characters -- I. McQueen (solicit copy calls him "Alistair," but if it ain't in the comic ... oh, and he dresses like he's the Third Man from "Planetary") and Able Monroe (nicknamed "Speed" in the solicits ... don't just trust, check it out yourself) -- work together with the kind of practiced ease and sniping amiability that can only come from years of experience, and the characterization on the two of them is top notch given the close quarters available for it. Their opposite number -- Jacob Sterne, the deputy director for the US Department of Clandestine Services "a few years after tomorrow" (nicely put) -- is more of a stock type from Central Casting, a straightlaced and brutal bureaucrat who you could see meeting Norman Osborn for lunch. The entire package, however, is thrilling and well worth checking out, with clear and solid visual depictions and storytelling from Lee Garbett with Johnny Rench's flawless coloring helping things stand out even more. A fantastic debut which has many interesting possibilities.

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