Dynamite Entertainment 2016
Written by James Robinson
Illustrated by Tom Feister
Coloured by David Curiel
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Alright folks this one is unlike any love story you’ll see. I really enjoyed how this was told, it’s narrated by an unseen person and it does go a long way in setting the stage for this story. Also from the first page here you marvel at the work Tom and David produce. The falling leaves on a fall day with all the attention to detail is utterly spectacular. This is how you know you are in for something special.
A modern day Bonnie & Clyde, Steve and Mabel are serial bank robbers. They travel around knocking off banks and using completely random car’s, looks and methods to do it. Without a pattern they are extremely unpredictable and it’s anyone’s guess where they’ll show up next and what they’ll look like.
Next we meet Deputy James “Mac” McNamara a recent addition to Fair Valley County in southern Illinois. We learn his story too well kind of. He’s an outsider in this small town and if it were for the connections, yes nepotism, he wouldn’t have been hired here at all. He’s an outsider here and they don’t know him and aren’t prone to warming up to strangers very quickly either. You have to read the issue to get his full story but suffice it to say he’s a main character here and vital to what’s going on.
I really am impressed with the interiors here. The use of page layouts is extraordinary and through angles, perspective and backgrounds Tom really brings a lot of visualisation to this and makes us see so much more than you realise. The facial expressions and body language here are phenomenal and really tell you a lot about a person.
Fate, chance some unknown force in the universe is responsible for Mac and his partner being near the bank Steve an Mabel hit in their town. What goes down here and our mysterious narrator’s view of it well it’s the whole reason we’re going to really enjoy this little story. From our modern day bank robbers to small town cop this one is going to get incredibly interesting incredibly fast.
What James does here with the story, development, advancement in the span of one issue is set the stage beautifully for what’s to come. Flesh out the characters we are introduced to. I want to talk about more but that would spoiling the issue and this is one you should really come into knowing that the writing and interiors are incredibly solid. From concept to execution this is pretty flawless and it will cause you to sit up take notice and wonder if such things are possible anymore. Also how cruel a mistress fate can be which is a delightful irony as well.
There’s a reason James is a modern day master as he continues to bring out the best and worst in his characters for all the world to see. This is entertaining, refreshing and by far one of the better stories of it’s kind.