SKINWALKER #1
"Passing Through"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Oni Press
Writers: Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir
Pencils: Brian Hurtt
Inks/Letters: Arthur Dela Cruz
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
If memory serves, the first Oni Press title I ever read was Whiteout (in trade paperback format). I was immediately taken with the strong characterization from Greg Rucka, gritty art from Steve Lieber, but most of all, I loved the look into the isolated culture of Antarctica. And now, a few years later, Oni is delivering a book that delivers the same strengths, albeit in a much different setting.
FBI special agent Gregory Haworth finally gets the promotion he's after, climbing the next step up the ladder within the bureau, and that's when his first partner leaves him a message, desperate for help with something he's up to in Navajo country. Haworth checks into it, making tribal police officer Ann Adakai fear federal interference with her job. It turns out her latest case and Haworth's business converge, though.
Sure, we've all seen FBI profiler characters on TV, but getting inside the head of someone who thinks like a criminal isn't the easiest task for the audience. The writers give us something to relate to in Haworth, though: ambition. As for Ann Adakai, it's not hard to believe in her as a character. Her narrative is quite down to earth, and though a bit on the grumpy side, she's got more of an everyday, easy-going attitude that makes her quite likeable.
Hurtt and Dela Cruz's collaboration reminds me a great deal of Lieber's realistic, sketchy style, and it suits the dark, true-crime elements of the book. Dela Cruz's influence on the art is clear. There's a strong depth in the black-and-white art, whereas Hurtt brings a more straightforward, clear quality with his pencilled work.
Two stories and two characters converge here, and it makes for a subtle study in contrasts. Haworth and Adakai have similar jobs, but their goals are radically different. Haworth is focused on advancing his career, while Ann is just trying to do her job, not to help herself, but her community. Ann herself is a study in contrasts. She believes in preserving her culture, but she fears some of their traditions could cost them in the long run. Overall, there's a lot more to this book than a simple crime plot. The cultural and personal themes that the writers are exploring here make for a dense and varied read.
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