|
DEADLINE #1
Recommended (8/10)
|
Marvel Comics
Writer: Bill Rosemann
Artist: Guy Davis
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Price: $2.99 US/$4.75 CAN |
Deadline is one of those ideas that you can't believe nobody has done before. Journalists in a super-hero universe seems as obvious an idea as that of cops in a super-hero universe, but it took Bendis and Oeming to do Powers and it has taken Rosemann and Davis to create Deadline. Rosemann is best known as Marvel's PR guy, but he has scripted a few stories in his time, usually with pretty good results, and Guy Davis is of course the stunning artist behind Sandman Mystery Theatre and The Marquis. Together, the two of them have crafted a good concept into an
intriguing story, and the first issue has grabbed my attention.
There are two different stories and tones going on in Deadline, actually. One is the Astro City style approach, seeing the Marvel Universe through the eyes of a normal person, and the other is an approach that seems at home in independent comics, more true to real life than to super-heroic fiction. Deadline is an unusual
project for Marvel in many respects, a story that really puts the emphasis on
normal people rather than super-heroes. I loved little things like the
adversarial relationship between lead character Kat and the Human Torch, or
third-rate villains like Carjack, but even more I loved seeing Kat deal with
anxious answering machine messages from her mother or trying to battle her way
past the glass ceiling with the help of veteran reporter Betty Brant.
Another unusual aspect is the
use of one of my favorite artists, Guy Davis, on art chores. He seems an ideal
choice for this type of subject matter, given his talent for realism and
atmosphere. Bill Rosemann's script depicts New York City as a character as much
as anyone else, and Davis's visions of the city remind me of the short time I
spent living there. He has a way with the other characters as well. Kat Farrell
appears like a regular girl, attractive but certainly not a supermodel, the
perfect model of the everywoman.
I have an interest in
journalism (it's what I got my degree in, if nothing else), but what really drew
me to this wasn't necessarily that it was a comic about a journalist but that it
was a comic about a protagonist with a fairly routine job. Rosemann does a very
nice job of conveying Kat as a regular person, and he likewise establishes a
believable look at superhumans on their off-time, with great ideas like the
super-human tattoo parlor. Also, while the narration sometimes gets a little
flowery and melodramatic, I was generally pretty happy with Kat's sarcastic but
likable voice.
While the focus of Deadline may be on Kat's quest to get a new reporting
assignment, away from the "capes" beat that she hates, there's plenty more going
on. In this issue alone, we get a look at some of the seedier sides of
super-hero and super-villain activity, a look into how the Daily Bugle really
operates and a mysterious vigilante. There's a lot of story here, and I look
forward to seeing where these creators take it next.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
