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RUSE #1
Recommended (8/10)
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CrossGeneration Comics
Writer: Mark Waid
Pencils: Butch Guice
Inks: Mike Perkins
Colors: Laura DePuy
Letters: Dave Lanphear
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
As is the case with other CrossGen titles like Mystic, Scion and Meridian, the creators grab our attention initially not with plot or character, but with the setting. There's a lot more to Ruse than just the world in which its characters exist, but in this first issue, that world is definitely the most captivating element. I'm intrigued.
In the city of Partington (which resembles 19th century London), there is no greater mind than Simon Archard. It allows him to solve the most puzzling of crimes and mysteries with ease, though what he boasts in intellect, he lacks in manners and modesty. He is ever accompanied by Emma Bishop, a beautiful woman who's keeping a powerful secret from Archard. The pair meets a mysterious and dangerous woman named Miranda Cross, and their lives get much more interesting.
Several years ago, had one asked me my opinion of Butch Guice's work -- based on his art in such books as X-Factor and Action Comics -- my answer wouldn't have been all that favorable. However, in more recent years, his style has either improved or my appreciation of his ability has grown (probably a little of both, truth be told). I enjoyed his stuff in Resurrection Man and Birds of Prey, and it's even more impressive here in Ruse. He has created an entire world that's both familiar but ever so slightly alien as well. The period clothing stands out as my favorite visual aspect of the book. They hang realistically from the characters' bodies, and it reinforces the reality of a slightly unreal place.
Waid has crafted an interesting hero in Archard. One can't but admire his fictitious brilliance, just as one can't help but be annoyed by his gruff and seemingly emotionless demeanor. The reader finds him or herself both cheering him on and waiting for him to be one-upped... preferably by Emma.
Emma is the story's real central protagonist, though. We get to know her better, both because it is her voice that narrates the tale, and because she is much more open than Simon, despite her concealing of her powers. To be honest, those powers were the only aspect of the story didn't really click for me. However, given the linked nature of CrossGen's entire line of titles, they didn't come as a surprise either.
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