Two-in-One Review: Bad Guy Randy and Don look into the eyes of a killer... or at least his comic book, Bad Guy. Don: Randy and I read and review a lot of small-press books by people who love comics. These tyro efforts can boast rough art and scripts that sometimes need a bit of editing. But despite those flaws, the reading experience is an enjoyable one. New ideas and the creators' enthusiasm make it so. Bad Guy is one of those books. Randy: Right now, getting a hold of this book may be a little harder. You can find it at the website, or at the local stores that these creators frequent. But it should be getting Diamond distribution sometime this summer, and it's worth taking a look at. Bad Guy #1.1 published by Bad Guy Productions written by Jason Harris illustrated by Zack Morrissette additional inks by Kim Mau Don: John is a normal human being living in a world with superhuman figures that soar through the sky. John may have no powers, but he doesn't live a normal life. He's an unfeeling assassin, one who specializes in the elimination of super-heroes. His latest assignment: the murder of the Catholic super-hero known as the Cardinal. Randy: Mind you, the Cardinal isn't exactly your run-of-the-mill hero. For one thing, he's an icon of Catholic faith, a rare blend of religion and super-heroes which wouldn't fly in a more mainstream book due to the potential controversies. For another, he's a bit of a bastard in private. That was a disappointment to me, because while it made John a more sympathetic character, it also simplified what could have become a central conflict for him. For all my talk about Cardinal, though, it's John who really is the focus of the story. Don: Harris opts to make John the narrator, and it further involves in the reader in the life of this unusual individual. It makes it much easier to relate to a cold-blooded killer. The problem is that Harris doesn't seem entirely certain of what that voice really sounds like. There's a conflict between a cold formality and a "street" colloquial tone in the script. There are also more than a few typos throughout the book, and it distracts from the story. Randy: Oddly enough, the typos didn't bother me, but that's probably because we disagree about the voice. I thought that Harris did a very good job of giving John a believable voice, one that is intelligent and thoughtful but very rooted in a morally bankrupt world. Being an assassin is hard enough to imagine; being an assassin who kills super-heroes is next to impossible to picture. But Harris's dialogue really got me into John's head. Don: Morrissette has a lot of developing to do as an artist, but he certainly has his strengths. The action of the confrontation between John and the Cardinal was dynamic and exciting, conveying almost frantic yet precise movement quite well. His art suffers, though, when he isn't focused on one of the three main characters in this script. The opening page -- the one he should really try to grab the reader with -- seems rushed, almost as though it was glossed over because none of the main players are to be seen. Randy: The artwork was a bit of a stumbling block for me as well. The general sense of the story is there, and I give credit to Morrissette for pulling off some reasonably difficult storytelling shots. The storytelling is solid, but the art style itself was a little off-putting. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but a little more detail on the faces, backgrounds and other elements would help a lot. Don: Bad Guy is much like Kurt Busiek's Astro City... if it were called Quentin Tarantino's Astro City. Harris and Morrissette have an intriguing foundation in this first issue, but I'm curious what they plan to do next with the title. If this series will simply feature assignment after assignment for the title character, it will grow old quickly. But if the creators start to explore what makes John do what he does, or if he begins to question himself, it could make for an interesting exploration of a dark psyche. For more information on Bad Guy, visit www.badguyproductions.com. Email Randy and Don comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.