Writer Greg Rucka exploded into comics with his brilliant Whiteout series, and that title also served as a landmark in artist Steve Lieber's career in comics. The reason: they not only told a fascinating detective story, but they brought an almost alien place -- Antarctica -- and its unique culture to life. A quartet of creators did the same for a Navajo reserve in the recent Skinwalker limited series. And now, B. Clay Moore and Steven Griffin whisk the reader away to Hawaii in the 1950s in an entertaining read in which kitsch and culture collide.
An ex-cop turned private investigator named Byrd is hired by a lowlife to get back a stolen car, but the reward is so high that it raises suspicion. Byrd and his ex-Army pal (now a Hawaiian cop) soon learn that it's not the car that's the valuable commodity. Byrd and Mo must contend with not only mobsters, double-crossers and teen car thieves, but the island's myths and supernatural secrets as well.
Griffin's work obviously boasts some strong European influences, perhaps most apparent in the way he's colored his linework, with a textured but almost blotchy painted approach. It really helps the art on this book to stand out, to grab the reader with its individual and less traditional appeal. I love how he blends both realism and exaggeration. While Byrd is portrayed as a regular guy, the other characters -- both his friend Mo and the sleazy criminal who ends up tagging along for the ride -- seem almost like misshapen figures. The darker colors also help to reinforce the supernatural elements that creep into the plot.
Moore does an excellent job is conveying how 1950s Hawaii is somehow both a quickly growing urban centre and an unblemished tropical jungle paradise all at once. It's the best of both worlds. It's alien and exotic but dirty, dangerous and titillating all at once. Bringing that unusual setting to life is the book's greatest strength.
As for the plot, it's like something out of 100 Bullets and Hellblazer. The "mystery" of what was in the car's trunk was rather predictable, though, but I was surprised at how the cargo was dealt with by the issue's end. Plot-wise, Moore has definitely piqued my interest.
