Scan barcode
robin_dh's review
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
colophonphile's review
I read this thinking I had already read it, but I'd really only read the first issue. I read it now because I kind of enjoy the TV series, and the series is so different from the book it should almost have a different title. But that's a whole other story.
In brief, this is more than pretty solid. In fact, the way Milligan plays with point of view and notions of identity is often impressive. You'd think a comic, in which things are firmly drawn on the page, would not lend itself (in a very general-audience-oriented pop-noir like this) to ambiguity, but in the hands of Milligan and artist Javier Pulido not only do you get nicely teased as to who is saying what, the characters themselves often have to wrestle with similar issues. (At its best, especially in the early issues, the art reminds me of work by Tim Sale, Matt Madden, and R. Kikuo Johnson.)
The reason for all this teasing is that the main character (named Christopher Chance, as in the TV show) is something of a cipher, a mercenary bodyguard capable of taking on the appearances of others, and often going so deep into character that he looses track of his own identity. The characters themselves get thrown off in the process -- for example, a baseball player needs help, but in order to help him, Chance must become not the player today, but the player years ago, when he was still a remarkable athlete. The divide between who the player is today and who he once was is as much a concern to the story as is the divide between the player and the man who has signed on to impersonate him.
To be clear, this isn't The Sound and the Fury; there are easy cues as to who's saying what, especially if you look at the color/shading of the word balloons (more like "thought boxes," so much of the book is interior monologe).
In brief, this is more than pretty solid. In fact, the way Milligan plays with point of view and notions of identity is often impressive. You'd think a comic, in which things are firmly drawn on the page, would not lend itself (in a very general-audience-oriented pop-noir like this) to ambiguity, but in the hands of Milligan and artist Javier Pulido not only do you get nicely teased as to who is saying what, the characters themselves often have to wrestle with similar issues. (At its best, especially in the early issues, the art reminds me of work by Tim Sale, Matt Madden, and R. Kikuo Johnson.)
The reason for all this teasing is that the main character (named Christopher Chance, as in the TV show) is something of a cipher, a mercenary bodyguard capable of taking on the appearances of others, and often going so deep into character that he looses track of his own identity. The characters themselves get thrown off in the process -- for example, a baseball player needs help, but in order to help him, Chance must become not the player today, but the player years ago, when he was still a remarkable athlete. The divide between who the player is today and who he once was is as much a concern to the story as is the divide between the player and the man who has signed on to impersonate him.
To be clear, this isn't The Sound and the Fury; there are easy cues as to who's saying what, especially if you look at the color/shading of the word balloons (more like "thought boxes," so much of the book is interior monologe).
jgkeely's review
3.0
Milligan keeps an even keel in this series, but there's just not enough variety the stries. Same problems, same themes, same insights about identity. I don't feel like we've gotten anything that wasn't covered in the first, much more interesting arc. As in Shade's 'American Scream' storyline, we get another glimpse here of Milligan trying to come to terms with things that are quintessentially American; namely, baseball.
His take is amusing, and Chance's distance from the national pastime feels a bit European, though interestingly, the series itself feels more Japanese. I've never been fond of Pulido's work on this series, too flat, not enough flair or style. He's not pushing any boundaries with the art to match Milligan's scripts so I keep downgrading the books.
Whether it was intentional or not, Pulido is evoking Japanese baseball Manga and for once, he's actually experimenting with the form. I didn't feel like the experiments really went anywhere, they were just unfocused attempts to break the frame and do something more 'Vertigo'. Mere difference never makes for strong inspiration.
In his aping of Manga, we get some rather out-of-place art decisions, such as changing protagonist Chance from a classic Hollywood Clooney-lookalike with a lantern jaw to a young, slender, pointy-chinned bishonen (Japanese 'cute boy' stereotype). It was fairly inexplicable to me, but at least Pulido is trying.
Not a bad story, lots of twists and flashy language, but Milligan seems content to coast, or perhaps he's just not sure what else to say. Not every setting inspires every writer. Again, he's tackling the quintessentially American: Noir. But if Charlier and Leone can outdo us for Westerns, it shouldn't be beyond Milligan to bring a new perspective to it.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
His take is amusing, and Chance's distance from the national pastime feels a bit European, though interestingly, the series itself feels more Japanese. I've never been fond of Pulido's work on this series, too flat, not enough flair or style. He's not pushing any boundaries with the art to match Milligan's scripts so I keep downgrading the books.
Whether it was intentional or not, Pulido is evoking Japanese baseball Manga and for once, he's actually experimenting with the form. I didn't feel like the experiments really went anywhere, they were just unfocused attempts to break the frame and do something more 'Vertigo'. Mere difference never makes for strong inspiration.
In his aping of Manga, we get some rather out-of-place art decisions, such as changing protagonist Chance from a classic Hollywood Clooney-lookalike with a lantern jaw to a young, slender, pointy-chinned bishonen (Japanese 'cute boy' stereotype). It was fairly inexplicable to me, but at least Pulido is trying.
Not a bad story, lots of twists and flashy language, but Milligan seems content to coast, or perhaps he's just not sure what else to say. Not every setting inspires every writer. Again, he's tackling the quintessentially American: Noir. But if Charlier and Leone can outdo us for Westerns, it shouldn't be beyond Milligan to bring a new perspective to it.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
More...