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ELECTROPOLIS #2
"The Infernal Machine Part Two"
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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Image Comics
Writer/Artist: Dean Motter
Colors: Chris Chuckry
Editor: Anya Martin
Price: $2.95 US |
I'm a bit lost as to what
exactly is going on with this series. The characters are fun, the atmosphere
engaging and the artwork gorgeous, but the intricate plot and various
motivations of the players are a bit hard to keep track of. I'm definitely
interested in this story, but given the complex nature of the six-part story and
the infrequent publication of the book, I lean toward waiting and hoping for a
trade rather than picking it up in serial form.
Picking up where he left off last issue,
Motter takes us to the scene of a gangland style drive-by shooting on the only
lead that detectives Menlo Park and Anesta Robbins. It is there that things
slowly begin to get complicated, as he introduces, through the course of the
issue, two potential love interests for Robbins, a mysterious clue dropped by
the murdered Jake, a swanky nightclub, the origin of the Ladder Investigations
firm and another party who was intent on murdering Jake. That's a lot to fit
into a single issue, particularly when it's been months since the first issue,
and you need to basically re-establish every one of your characters as well.
The story strains under the weight of all this exposition. While the basic story for this issue, taking Anesta and Menlo from a crime scene to a nightclub, moves smoothly, the overall mystery gets lost in the shuffle. While the sense that something big is going on remains due to the number of folks involved, the details of the case are completely lost on me. In that respect, the book is still somewhat like The Maltese Falcon, the movie it seems loosely based on, but it doesn't include
the snappy dialogue that kept that movie so engaging. I never really feel like
I've gotten close to these characters, even Anesta, who we spend the most time
with.
It may sound like I didn't like the book at
all, and that's definitely not true. While the specifics of character and plot
are a bit vague for me, the overall atmosphere of the book is almost enough to
keep me reading regardless. Motter's artwork, with Chuckry's excellent colors,
is impressive and really maintains the unique feel of the book. He's drawing on
the 1930s (or later interpretations of that period), whether it's the Golden Age
of science fiction or the noir films and novels that were set in that time, and
the combination of these elements gives the book a unique and intriguing look.
All in all, I think that Electropolis should be lauded for doing something
different. However, like so many Image books, it is being held back by an
incredibly tough market and a very erratic serial publication schedule that does
not fit its pacing at all.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
