One could argue some of the character and plot elements in this story fit in better with over the top soap-opera drama or a cheesy prime-time cop show, but these two strong small-press make it all work quite well. A fragile psyche and a meek personality converge and somehow, they're able to help each other out. On the surface, this is far from the grounded fare we expect from writer Damon Hurd, but behind the extreme characterization and plotting, there are characters to which the reader can, problems that we've all faced in one form or another. Smith's simple style is remarkably effective at bringing the story to life.
Detective Kaswalski has caught temp Envy St. Claire stealing from the evidence room in the basement of the precinct, but she's caught him doing the same. Both seems to have something over the other, but Kaswalski has an edge... a couple of them, actually: a gun and a pair of handcuffs. After cuffing her, though, he becomes confused as disparate personalities wrestle for control, and he wanders off. Envy is left alone and vulnerable, worried what will become of her. She's inspired to take action by an encouraging voice.
Smith's art here could be described as being crude, but given how effectively he depicts this characters, I wouldn't be one to use such a description. Envy's smooth, untainted beauty reinforces her nature as something of an innocent walking through an ugly part of the world. I remain impressed with the faded approach used to differentiate between scenes set in the "real" world and those inside Kaswalski's head. I wish Smith would have made use of grayscales to add greater depth, especially given the sparseness of the backgrounds. He does so to great effect in his Shuck comics, and I would have liked to have seen more of that approach here.
Envy's other self, "Sympathy," is clearly meant to allow the reader to compare the two main characters. Unlike Kaswalski, Envy's not overcome by multiple personalities. The creators are simply pointing out that we all have other "selves" lurking within us, and it's clear that Sympathy serves a source of strength for Envy. That she's rendered in a crude, child-like style also tells us that Sympathy is linked to Envy's innocence; one could argue she's her inner child. Visually, Kaswalski's personalities are just as fleshed out as he is, serving as a cue that his other selves, his delusions, are far more developed and far more powerful forces in his life.
Hurd and Smith's point is that we've all got these other voices, these other people inside our heads. Few of us fall victim to them as the cop does, but even some of his personalities serve a purpose. Ultimately, we are all who we need to be in given circumstances. Personality is a fluid concept, and that can be both positive and negative. 8/10
