Gun Candy is by the sub-studio of 12 Gauge Comics, and has quite a bit in common with Body Bags, the other recent Image offering from 12 Gauge. A heavy testosterone vibe built on equal parts action and sex appeal and art contributions by Pearson are two of the most easily noticed similarities. Gun Candy is a flip book, with half of the book being a new tale of "The Ride," the loose anthology of stories based around a classic Camaro, while the other half is a story of Laci, the seductive schoolgirl dressed hitwoman who featured in early issues of The Ride. Both have a sort of "guy's movie night" vibe to them in different ways, but both are well-executed and fun.
Gun Candy makes no pretense about its prurient appeal, as you can tell from that less than subtle cover, but I have to admit, it's kind of a fun ride. Laci's bizarre innocence is an interesting contrast with her personality and job that allows her to casually murder and cause havoc, not to mention her freedom with her sexuality, but that mixture makes for some very funny moments and fun narration throughout. There's also a nice variance in art style, from Stelfreeze's usual style (reminiscent of Tony Harris's work on Ex Machina, although with more of an emphasis on action) to a really fun manga-style sequence from Laci's training as a 10-year-old. Gun Candy knows what it wants to be, and it accomplishes that goal to near perfection. It's not for everyone, and certainly the cheesecake nature of that cover or the violence in the story might put some off, but you can't fault Wagner and Stelfreeze in their execution, as they've pretty much nailed the type of story they want to tell. Personally, I thought it was kind of fun.
The flipside of the book actually features two stories, loosely related, about a road trip to New Orleans by a couple unprepared kids and a harried reporter trying to put together a few seconds of tape from some truly unreliable eyewitnesses to a hit and run. The focus here is on comedy and character, and Dixon and his artists accomplish both pretty well. I'm not sure where Sanford Greene came from, but his art style, accompanied by veteran inker Dexter Vines, looks terrific. It's got a little bit of the exaggerated vibe of Jim Mahfood, Skottie Young and Dave Crosland, but it's notably different from those three as well, and I really love the use of (presumably computerized) zip-a-tone throughout. It's perfectly matched to Dixon's story of hapless teens out of their depth on the streets of New Orleans.
Jason Pearson is equally well-matched to the tale of Dallas Peyton, a reporter trying to crib together a brief segment for TV news about a hit and run on the streets. Pearson proves on Body Bags that he's got a gift for bloody minded violence and exaggerated bodies, but he's also very good at the exaggeration needed to make comedic timing of a certain sort work. Dixon's story revolves around this kind of comedy, a mixture of slapstick and slow burn annoyance that gives way to frustrated yelling and gesticulating. These stories are shorter than the extended Gun Candy sequence, but they have a certainy commonality of spirit, and this works as a flipbook.
My initial impressions of The Ride were somewhat disappointed, but it seems that the book has found its feet, or at least found a more common interest with my own sensibilities, as it has gone on. I expected Gun Candy to be little more than a T and A book based on that cover, but while that is a factor, what it really is has more in common with '70s machismo action comedy, mixed with a more modern-day female protagonist, although still cast in a male wish-fulfilment style. Gun Candy reminds me in all the right ways of some of the action-packed works at AIT/Planet Lar like Last of the Independents and The Couriers, and for those who like that kind of unrestricted testosterone-driven action, Gun Candy is well worth a look.
