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HALO & SPROCKET #1
(Best of the Week!)
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics
Writer/Artist: Kerry Callen
Price: $2.95 US |
I would have bought this based strictly on the concept, but because of an online preview, I actually had the chance to see what I was getting into, and it looked quite promising, cute and funny. Callen delivers on the promise of that online strip, serving up several short stories that feature light philosophy, the humor that comes from simple pleasures and a trio of distinctive and funny characters. While a quick glance at the cover will tell you to expect quirky and cute tales, Halo & Sprocket isn't just cute and quirky; it
is also laugh-out-loud funny.
Callen seems destined to
suffer the same "he's not a woman?" reaction as Andi Watson and Terry Moore, for
much the same reasons. Katie is a remarkably believable and likable young woman,
not unlike many women I've known, with a somewhat mischievous sense of humor and
an energetic and optimistic personality. She has just enough strangeness about
her to fit in with such odd roommates as a robot and an angel, although her
quirks are no more unusual than a lot of real people. For instance, I know of
several friends who would be just as drawn to the simple joke of Butter
Crackers.
Though Halo & Sprocket focuses on an unusual set of
roommates, it is also very much a "slice of life" type book. It's full of
observational humor and philosophical discussions, although it never gets too
deep into heavy and potentially depressing subject matter. The book is kept
light and fun, with no shortage of laughs for the reader. The alien perspectives
of Halo and Sprocket, reacting to normal situations like the eternal question of
whether a glass if half-full or half-empty, a discussion about names or a
late-night trip to the Museum of Natural History makes these situations quite
funny.
Callen's artwork is clean and
simple, boasting the same charm that Andi Watson brings to his work. Though the
detail is light, there's plenty of expression in the characters, and the use of
splotches of gray to help set the characters apart from the background serves as
a nice spotlight for them. I also quite enjoyed some of the "special effects"
used to indicate Halo's abilities, such as the announcement of her voice or her
teleportation or presence abilities.
The book is finished out with some cute and fun pin-ups from other talented artists, each incorporating the style of Halo & Sprocket into their own. Whether it's Kelly Seda's somewhat creepy rendition, the attitude-laden pin-up by Jim Mahfood, Huddleston's more philosophical piece or the wonderfully detailed work by unfamiliar name Anna-Maria Cool, this was a nice after-dinner mint for the Halo & Sprocket experience. This is a book that
could easily fly under fans' radar, and trust me when I say that you shouldn't
let it pass you by without a look.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
