In reading Midnight Mover, I'm reminded a lot of the work of Elmore Leonard, as Phillips explores the underside of society most of us never see by making the players very easy to relate to. Like Shot Callerz, Phillips's initial effort for Oni, this one centers on a crime and how a variety of characters are involved, but unlike Shot Callerz, it comes with much stronger art courtesy of Love and Wasson and a plot and characters that I found a lot easier to get into. So while I still feel like I'm looking in on a world that I don't fully get, I at least feel like I know the language.
Actually, if anything, I think Phillips might have gone a little too far in the other direction. While Shot Callerz practically screamed "street" with the heavy use of slang and the assumption that the reader could easily follow the social order of things, Midnight Mover almost feels too routine at times in terms of dialogue. The dialogue is great for establishing the characters and moving the plot forward, but it sometimes feels a bit stiff, like things no one would ever really say.
The characters and the plot are definitely intriguing, though. Everyone has a secret, whether it's the cop with a hobby (or side job?) as a dominatrix or the former bodyguard and murder suspect whose history with the Army has me very interested in finding out more. There's also a strong central mystery in the story, as we wonder why the girl was killed, by who and, given some of the circumstances, whether it was designed mostly to kill her or mostly to set up her supposed bodyguard/driver.
Unlike the gritty and sometimes difficult to read artwork of Brett Weldele, Love and Wasson serve up a look that used to be associated largely with "animated" style books but which has come into vogue at Oni and Image for a lot of different genres. Love's work is reminiscent of Steve Rolston, and I'm kind of surprised at how his work manages to come across as such clean, well-defined lines but still carry a sense of the sleazy and grimy tone of the series. The sweat, half-shaven faces or (in perhaps the most disturbing visual of the issue) sweaty half-shaven cross-dresser, really comes through in the artwork.
In all honesty, Midnight Mover doesn't quite click with me personally, but I can't quite put my finger on why. I suspect it has more to do with what I look for in a crime story than any significant failing on the creative team's part, because all the ingredients necessary, including solid art, well-defined characters and a clear plot, are here.
