Genetic experimentation meets anonymous altruism in an unusual title called Kameelman. Randy and Don take a look.
Don:
Kameelman is a title that defies description, but for a small press effort, it has quite the pedigree. I was surprised to see that industry veteran Ron Randall provides the pencils. Designed to be an interactive comic book -- there are a number of cues directing the reader to the Kameelman website for extra information and DVD-like "Easter eggs" -- it's an interesting experiment... but there are a number of bugs to be worked out before the desired results are achieved.
Randy:
We recieved three issues of Kameelman for review, including the third issue, which shipped to stores just this week. It's a black-and-white book from a small publisher, but as Don notes, there is a pretty solid pedigree here, from the credits attributed to some of the creative team to the nice paper used to give the book solid production values.
Kameelman #s 1-3
written by T-Bone
illustrated by Ron Randall & James Taylor
published by A1 Oregon Publishing
Don:
Zack Ziegler is a transgenic clone, created by a greedy and corrupt scientist. Zack's genetic makeup includes the DNA of the chameleon, granting him limited physical and psychological morphing capabilities and independently moving eyes. Hiding from the corporation that created him, Zack has joined the members of Here2Chat.com, a group that finds troubled teens online and helps them through their problems with guidance, and sometimes, with the help of Zack's special skills.
Help-line altruism meets super-heroics in this unusual series, which combines science-fiction with after-school-special-esque, slice-of-life storytelling. Kameelman greatest's strength is its unique quality. There's really nothing out there like it, and it's rather difficult to describe. There's a great deal of potential in T-Bone's concepts here.
Unfortunately, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. T-Bone never really explains the Here2Chat.com setup, why these characters do what they do and how they're able to do it. If that weren't confusing enough, Zack's situation is never fully explained either. The storytelling lacks focus as well. Sometimes, the script is focused on the problems that the "team" is trying to solve, and at others, it's all about Zack, his confusion and his fears. T-Bone is all over the place, and I suspect some strong editing would go a long way to clear and tighten things up.
Randy:
I think you've hit the nail on the head here. There are things to like about Kameelman, including a refreshingly "nice" approach that eschews violence and attitude for a more humanistic, optimistic view and an interesting setup that has teen heroes dealing with much smaller and more real problems than super-villains with world domination on their mind. What it reminds me of is an afterschool special kind of vibe, trying to teach lessons about understanding and tolerance along with telling a story. Now, that's not necessarily my cup of tea anyway, as it seems a little too forgiving of the darker parts of the world, but my main problem is the same one you had: There's not enough focus here.
If nothing else, it seems like T-Bone should have laid down the premise of the book somewhere more clearly in the first three issues. Not only do we not have an explanation of how and why the Here2Chat.com setup came to be, which is a fairly big question, we never even get to see much of where Zack's "Kameelman" powers came from beyond a dashed off explanation of genetic manipulation. What was he originally bred for? How did he escape? Where did he meet all these people? Why is he a nice guy, when his creator almost certainly wasn't trying to breed such? Lots of unanswered questions, and rather than lending an element of mystery, they make the events focused on in the first three issues seem trivial.
Don:
I found the second issue to be a bit frustrating, as there doesn't seem to be any real story. Most of the issue takes place as four female friends -- the Here2Chat.com girls among them -- skydive. We get to know one of the protagonists a little better, but there's no conflict, no element that really draws one into the book. The closing pages simply serve to establish the third issue's conflict.
Randy:
I think that once again it comes down to focus. T-Bone's view of the world in Kameelman seems a little sanitized, but it isn't completely unrealistic, and I expect that if he focused on the down-to-Earth elements of the script, including the skydiving, pool parties, teenage romantic difficulties and bullies, he could have a gripping read here not unlike Ultimate Spider-Man, Sentinel or one of the other teen drama meets super-hero comics out there. However, it honestly feels like the science-fiction and super-hero elements don't have a place here, and the fact that Zack's abilities are so Silver Age hokey in the first place (he can "psychologically shapeshift?" Takes a Grant Morrison to pull that concept off without it seeming goofy) make me wish he had left out the more outrageous elements and focused in on the teenage life lessons that seem to be the book's real raison d'etre.
Don:
Ron Randall's soft style suits the down-to-earth tone of the story; Kameelman boasts a rather clean, innocent feel... sort of the 7th Heaven of teen super-hero comics. He also manages to convey a slightly alien quality in the title character while still maintaining a human appearance that allows him to fit into the everyday world. The one real problem with Randall's linework, though, is that he doesn't seem to take the black-and-white format into account. There are two characters in the first issue, for example, that are indistinguishable from one another. Furthermore, the lettering doesn't flow through the page all that well.
Randy:
The book does have a clean and effective look, and given the experience that the art team has in the industry, it is much more polished than the writing in general. You're right that some of the characters look a little too similar (and Zack's shape-shifting doesn't help matters in that regard) and that the black-and-white format isn't capitalized on as much as it could be, but you can't fault Randall's attention to detail or effective character designs. Certainly his work on the skydiving sequence gives a real sense of the freedom and fun to be found for the characters in that activity, and he populates the pool party in the third issue quite well.
Don:
At its heart, Kameelman boasts an important message. It's all about self-esteem, about recognizing one's strengths and using them to overcome perceived weaknesses. I can relate to a number of characters in this story -- especially the victim whom the heroes help in the first issue. These initial offerings are confusing, but there is potential here. I honestly can't recommend Kameelman, but with some polish to the storytelling, more clarity and focus, that's something that could change as the series progresses.
For more information on Kameelman, visit
