Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Point Of Impact #1
Image Comics
Faerber & Kuranel
Point of Impact number one is the first issue of a four-issue, crime-drama, mini-series. The opening issue reveals the crime and introduces the players. While, this might sound like a lot of set up, the book manages to present some interesting personalities and relationships to help the reader connect with them a little more than your average story. I found the crime to be interesting, but I was hoping for a little more sleaze I suppose. There is enough in here to get me back for a second issue, which is all you can ask for I suppose.
The book starts out with a fantastic murder. Well, the murder isn't cool, but the way the reader learns of it is. From there, we begin to learn about the characters. The victim has a spouse, the victim has a lover, the victim has investigators and mixing in with all of it is a mysterious intruder and a puppet master.
The book is a fast paced comic book as we go from scene to scene rather quickly. This really helps to move along the story. This isn't the type of crime story that is popular today like Criminal. This isn't really a noir kind of comic book. This is a drama where it is clear who the protagonist is and it's clear that the reader is supposed to feel a level of sympathy for that character.
The book's strength is the character work. It's interesting because in the back of the book Faerber writes an essay about how much he loves a specific TV show that excels at the subplot and the non-linear story and yet this comic doesn't appear to do that. I wonder what the rest of the series has to offer with that in mind.
The artwork is done in beautiful black and white. While you might not find black and white to have the ability to highlight details as a color book might, rest assured that this book is every bit as detailed as any book I have ever seen. All you need to do is check out the first page with the shattered windshield to see the care taken in this book. However, it is not flawless as I found the fight sequence to be clunky and awkward. For example, there are two panels where a bunch is thrown with one hand but the recipient seems to be turned as if hit with the opposite hand. Overall, this was a beautiful comic book.
This series is obviously written for the trade. As such, there isn't really cliffhanger so much as there is a break in the story waiting for the next issue. The book can't truly be evaluated until it is fully complete. This issue is good but it doesn't quite sparkle among the many, many crime comic books that have come out in the past five years or so. This is worth picking up and checking out, especially if you like some crime drama.
3 out of 5 geek goggles
