|
FUSED #1
"Canned Heat, Part One"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
|
Image Comics
Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Paul Lee
Price: $2.95 US/$4.65
CAN |
When I first heard of Fused, I figured it wouldn't exactly be my cup of tea. After all, the names attached to the series were relatively unfamiliar, and giant robot/battlesuit stories have been done to death, right? I couldn't have been more wrong, because while there's still plenty of room for Fused to go down overly familiar paths, the opening issue features interesting and often funny characterization, imaginative looks at the scientists behind the robotics project and some jaw-dropping artwork from newcomer Paul Lee. Fused has potential to be another
breakout hit from Image, and the first issue has definitely piqued my interest
for more.
What drew me to the series in the first place was the artwork, which is, simply put, phenomenal. I'm reminded of Birds of Prey cover artist Phil Noto, as well as
work by Tim Bradstreet and Travis Charest. Lee has a great eye for detail, does
very expressive faces and tops off this strong sense of design with some kinetic
and exciting action storytelling. In addition, he has the most important talent
for an artist on a book of this nature, the ability to make technology look
wicked cool, whether it's a prototype tank, mysterious robot infiltrator or the
cybot suit that is the central focus of the book. Even more impressive is that
Lee does the color as well, and he seems to have the same eye for color choices
as he does for the other artistic decisions in the book.
However, while the artwork's
impressiveness cannot be overestimated, it was the writing that drew me further
in. Niles opens with some believable banter between soon to be fused in metal
scientist Mark Haggerty and his wife Nicole, starting off a tech-heavy
espionage/action book with a solid foundation of characters. There's a similar
realistic and enjoyable vibe to the camaraderie amongst the lab technicians, and
the wise mentor character of Dr. Smith. In addition, though we see very little
of him in this issue, the hard-nosed Thorton Mortis seems to be an interesting
adversary.
Though much of this book is
setup and characterization, though, that doesn't mean that Niles and Lee have
skimped on the action. The opening sequence promises a good chase and fight
sequence in the near future, and the infiltration of an L.A. warehouse by a
mysterious female robot is a great action sequence right out of the movies, with
a truly amazing two-page splash.
Basically, Fused seems to have all the elements of a great comic,
from a solid script and idea to great characters to terrific artwork. I was
pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this first issue, and I look forward
to seeing future issues.
This comic book was not part of this week's new releases.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
