Two-in-One Review: Black Sun Flying fists, hard-boiled cops, demons with mysterious plans and a tough female protagonist all combine in the Eye of the Storm mini-series Black Sun Randy: Marc Andreyko is a name that many won't know, but they should. In addition to co-writing Torso with Brian Michael Bendis and "co-starring" in Fortune & Glory, he has written plenty of comics stories that never seem to get the daylight they deserve. Black Sun is one of his first high-profile projects, from DC/Wildstorm's "Eye of the Storm" imprint. Don: The first issue's already hit the stands, but Andreyko provided Randy and me with black-and-white preview copies of the next two issues, so we can share our views on about half of this six-part limited series. Black Sun #1-3 published by DC Comics/Wildstorm written by Marc Andreyko illustrated by Trevor Scott & Udon Studios Don: Wrist Dragons is the latest collectible toy craze to hit the streets of Hong Kong, but it's got some sort of link to a gang of monstrous criminals. Little does Detective Maggie Sun know what she's getting into. Mind you, she has plenty of distractions in her life. She and an American journalist are madly in love, her dad (who also happens to be her boss) is always trying to rein her in (both professionally and socially), and there's a family feud brewing between her dad and her billionaire uncle. Randy: I'm a fan of the action-movie genre, whether it's Lethal Weapon, Die Hard or The Last Boy Scout. Black Sun seems to be Andreyko's homage to these sort of over-the-top action cop movies, and while it may be missing the crucial buddy element, it does have plenty of family intrigue and plenty of action. It also features some supernatural elements, which go over surprisingly well with the style he's writing. The shapeshifting magical foe that Maggie faces seems right at home in her world of over the edge cops and robbers. Don: Funny you should mention buddy action flicks, because the heroine of this series strikes me as the heroes of Rush Hour -- Jackie Chan's and Chris Tucker's characters -- wrapped up in one neat, spunky package. While the action genre doesn't hold my attention all that well, Maggie's unrestrained personality wins the reader over with ease. A mix of toughness, plaufulness and sensuality make her the kind of heroine you can't help but cheer on. Randy: Andreyko uses much of the first issue to introduce his protagonist and her family and boyfriend, but he also has to set up the villains of the piece, which quite honestly aren't as interesting. It was only in the second issue that I started to really become interested in Black Sun, as the true motivations of Maggie's charismatic uncle and a few family tragedies, both pre-existing (her mother) and new (her father) start to make me feel like Maggie has a personal stake in this case. Throughout the series, though, I've been enjoying the relationship between Maggie and her boyfriend, which reverses the dominant male/female standard but still keeps her boyfriend a strong and interesting character. Don: I have to agree about the villains. While the dysfunctional family dynamics of the Sun clan are interesting, the demonic and ultimately generic quality of the baddies behind everything doesn't interest me in the least. It also seems a little late in the game to latch onto the collectible toy phenomenon as a plot element. It would have been fresh a couple of years ago, but falls flat now. Randy: I must confess that the addition of super-powers into the mix disappointed me, as I had preferred Maggie as somewhat more down to Earth, but it has become clear that she's not just some cop on a personal case in this story. Her powers come from a source that ties directly into one of the big mysteries of the series, and it's clear that Andreyko has more than one twist left up his sleeve for the rest of the series. In my review of the first issue, I commented that the artwork was hard to follow and not terribly attractive, and while the lack of over-saturated color helps to some degree in these preview copies, I still have trouble with Scott's style. His style reminds me somewhat of Damion Scott's, with unusual body proportions and exaggerated movements, but with a much heavier crowding going on in the backgrounds. One can't accuse Trevor Scott of laziness... the detail in the pencils is astounding. And in fairness, there weren't any points in the story where I couldn't follow what was going on, but a little clarity would have made it more immediate and less reliant on mental processing, which is important in an action-oriented tale. Don: I liked Scott's work here better than you did... and it stands out as the strongest sample of his art I've seen thus far. His work struck me as being influenced by a variety of styles. It's like J. Scott (Danger Girl) Campbell meets Howard (American Flagg!) Chaykin or Charlie (White Death) Adlard. The art is a bit busy, yes, but it's in keeping with the Hong Kong action genre. The demonic antagonists lack visual definition, though, and that reinforces that afore-mentioned generic quality. In the end, though, Black Sun is what it's supposed to be: just a nice bit of fun. Sure, it has its dramatic moments, but it's the over-the-top quality of the heroine and the action that serves as its core strength. For more information about Black Sun, visit DC's Black Sun website. Email Randy and Don comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.