Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Ten Grand #1
Image Comics
Straczynski & Templesmith
Ten Grand is a dense read that introduces a lot of concepts that don't completely come together in the first issue. There is a ton of dialogue but the book still manages to pull off some surprises. The book dances around the timeline but doesn't clue the reader in which makes for a tough, but not unmanageable read. Overall, the book was a decent start but it needs to make its intentions more clear for me to hang around much further.
The book is basically about a hit-man that seems to have turned into some sort of private investigator. The book introduces his latest case and he finds that the person he is looking into is someone that he's previously killed. The book then drifts into the supernatural aspect of the story that reveals why this character is doing what he is doing.
The plot is fairly standard. A girl goes missing and a family member thinks of a suspect and wants someone outside of the law to find out what they can. The mystical aspect of the book is a little confusing until the end reveal. However, the end reveal comes at a price. Based on what we learn about the main character it seems so odd that he would just be sitting around waiting while he should be working every second to do what he was tasked to do as we find out in the end of the book.
This plot development takes away from the character and his attitude that Straczynski spent many panels and pages trying to establish. I'm not sure what to make now of the character or his motivations. It was an odd reveal that simply didn't line up with what learned about him through the entire book.
Templesmith is an extremely gifted artist and he helps to carry this issue during the heavy dialogue scenes. His style lends itself towards the occult and creepiness. Even with the light line work and the heavy shading he still presents a very detailed story. The art taste is not the standard super hero (or any comic book) style and that might scare some folks away but this is precisely the kind of book you want him on. Templesmith's art definitely raises the enjoyment of this book.
Ten Grand has some ideas here in the first issue. The story doesn't feel too original but it doesn't feel completely tired either. The plot isn't fully cooked but there is enough in here to show the main character's general motivation. I'm not sure this book gets a second look without the creators attached but I am definitely willing to see where this is going. This is a decent read.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
