The creative team that made me fall in love with Hopeless Savages in the first place is back together, and so far the results are pretty good. While Zero is still our narrator, Van Meter seems to be aiming at exploring the two siblings who have played mostly supporting roles in the past two mini-series, and the result is a book that keeps the humorous and unusual tone of Hopeless Savages but feels completely fresh because of a shift in focus and locale. Also, while I wasn't a huge fan of the art on the last Hopeless Savages mini, I'm thrilled to see Norrie back for another go-round and suitably impressed by new name Ross Campbell, who provides the flashbacks.
Van Meter sort of starts out in mid-story here, and I had a little trouble getting into the groove as a result. But once I figured out the family relations, the selfish preacher and the boyfriend situation of various characters, I was enthralled once again. Van Meter cheats a little in giving the preacher the legal right to harass people in their own home, but it's not so out of the realm of possibility given the rampant corruption that often follows organized religion that I couldn't buy into it. Especially when it serves as a neat in-story reason to send the clan chasing off after two of their wayward members.
It's the story in Hong Kong that really grabs my attention in this first issue. There are a number of elements to it, from the ever-popular customs mix-up to an old grudge rearing its head again to a fortune-teller's predictions causing several questions about the future, not to mention the presence of some kind of spy plot which somehow fits perfectly into the strange genre mix that is Hopeless Savages. The latter is especially neat because it seems like a crossover with Oni's Queen & Country, which is a fun nod both to the company ties the book share and the family ties (Q&C's Greg Rucka and Van Meter are married.) At any rate, there's a ton of setup here, and I look forward to seeing it play out.
Especially when it's going to play out with artwork like this. Norrie's expressive and light touch is a perfect match for these characters, whether it's the barely-restrained fury of Nikki at the beginning (echoed by her daughter Arsenal later on) or the anxious worry caused by the fortunes told by the grandmother of two of the characters. And the action is phenomenal, crisp and clear but with a comical, slapstick bent when needed. In addition, the flashbacks are by a new name, Ross Campbell, and I was immediately taken with his work as well. Van Meter serves up a hilarious flashback that plays around with the archetype of naughty school girls (minds out of the gutter, it's humorous not bawdy) and Campbell gets the humor as well as the darker elements that set up the relevance of the flashback to the modern-day story.
There are a lot of events and characters put into motion this issue, and Van Meter is certainly not short on plot. Which is nice, especially considering that the draw of this book, the fascinating characters, means that she could easily coast on less plot goings-on if she wanted to. This is a top-notch creative team on a proven set of characters; when it comes to interesting and fun, The Osbournes have got nothing on the Hopeless-Savages.
