For me, this is the most interesting of the new Image super-hero line so far, though it really doesn't feel like a super-hero book. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how it captured my attention so fully. Krueger's ideas are certainly amazing, and this book has that same sense of wild imagination that brought Foot Soldiers to life. Guy Davis, one of the most consistently excellent artists in comics, did designs, and all the artists involved here, even some who I usually don't like, turn in a fairly impressive job. However, I have to admit that a big part of why I love The Clockmaker is the format, which is another innovation on the part of Jim Krueger (and designer John D. Roberts) that speaks to the imagination and potential of the book more than the actual story does so far.
This book opens a little weirdly. It's actually hard to describe, although easy to grasp once you see it. Basically, although the book is folded to stand up as a regular comic would, it opens up wider and reads at an enormous size, most comparable to the size of The Red Star trade paperbacks. As a result, there's plenty of room for big, operatic storytelling as handled by the Mignola-esque crew of illustrators, whether it's names I know like Matt Smith or newer names like those of Howard and Halbleib. I don't know who did what, but I will say that the best art comes from the sequence where Astrid meets Hans at the airport and then sees the expansive clock that is now her responsibility. The colors throughout are bright and yet moody, and Weldele acquits himself well, reminding me of Jeremy Cox's work on Rex Mundi or Peter Pantazis's work on Powers.
While the book is an absolutely beautiful thing to behold, I will confess that it suffers from some of the same shortcomings as the rest of the Image super-hero line. Which is to say that not a whole lot happens in this issue, and it feels more like the first part of the first issue rather than the first issue. Those who haven't read the solicitation copy will have literally no idea what the book is actually about, except a girl named Astrid and some kind of enormous machine under Switzerland. It was enough to draw me in, knowing more about the concept, but I don't know if it will do the same for others.
However, while Krueger hasn't given up the goods in the book yet, he does provide some solid hooks. Astrid Bonn comes across as a bit harsh and cynical, but not without good cause, and as is always the case with this kind of story, I think that her outsider nature will come to be quite the asset. The brusque and capable Hans is also a fun character, and I suspect that the interplay between these two main characters will be half the fun of the book, if the last few pages between them is any guide.
Really, though, what gets me about Clockmaker, and what I think will get anyone who gives it half a chance, is the immensity of it. Not just the size of the book and the art, though that is impressive, not just the size of the clockwork and steam monstrosity that is exposed in the final few pages, but the scope and possibility that leaps off the page in this first issue. I know I've made a habit with the latest Image first issues of saying that it's good, with potential, but I'd have to say that with The Clockmaker, it's good with amazing potential.
