Image Comics 2015
Created & Written by Dan Watters
Created & Illustrated by Caspar Wijngaard
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Well now I love coming into a first issue without ever know what it’s going to be about so the surprise about it is thrilling. An amnesiac Private Investigator in New Orleans surrounded by all kind of voodoo, drugs, crime and possibly sex I mean what more could one possibly ask for? It’s a real treat to get something this unexpectedly fun and entertaining from creators i’m unfamiliar with.
The writing is creative, inventive and the characterization is superbly done. Starting off meeting Clay in a bar eating lizard on a stick was genius! It’s gross, fascinating and completely within the region’s cuisine. We also are treated to a nice view of who he is here as we see what happens in the bar and those around him. We also meet a couple of rednecks he calls the Fishmen. Oh and I have no idea if this will place he likes to frequent will be a recurring place but the waitress has potential too!
It’s Dia De Los Muertos in town and having forgotten that but he’s reminded pretty quickly! Gotta love it it’s all pretty much the same here though because it adds that air about the city that we need as he strolls the seediest of streets and then the bayou everything we see here just adds to the feel, tone and direction we need. Not to mention the narrative about himself and how he ended up here. A mystery for another time and place for now however it’s just the background information to help us get a feel for him.
Caspar’s interiors are pretty amazing for this story. He definitely has his unique style and that he’s doing everything himself certainly ensures his vision is exactly what he wants. It’s good too it’s almost has this updated, see modern, Noir feel about it that i really like and there’s a great use of an almost negative light source at times where’s the white just seems to glow that’s really eye catching.
As we meet Clay’s savior and probably only friend we learn about her and we get the introduction of a client to finish setting up this first issue things start to move along a great pace. I like that it moves into the story quickly. With a solid introduction of the characters the world they inhabit and getting right into the heart of the arc in the first issue without feeling like anything is rushed or missing shows some promising potential from Dan. I am nicely impressed that the guys have managed to do such a solid book here.
I like how we see Clay operate even if due to his own creation of circumstances he shouldn’t be trusting his client. I like the setup of how he thinks and what information we’re given by said client and how they agree to start playing things out. That Clay’s target is someone so well known in town for what he does is even better, playing with fire and all that. I appreciated how events that opened the book helped in rounding out closing the issue as well. Not sure if this will be an ongoing or just a limited series but with everything that goes on in this location of the world you should expect the unexpected and prepare for things to happen when you don’t understand how they can!