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MURDER ME DEAD #8
Recommended (8/10)
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El Capitan Books
Writer/Artist: David Lapham
Editor: Deborah Dragovic
Price: $2.95 US |
When Lapham announced that
his eight-issue story was now going to be a nine-issue story, I figured it was
because the story needed a lot more room to explore, not that he was going to
devote an entire issue to a big chase scene. However, while chase scenes aren't
Lapham's strength as much as strong character interaction and twisted plot
mechanics, he does an excellent job on the film noir style chase in this issue.
Although I can't help feeling like this could have been cut to bring the story
to it's long-anticipated conclusion, neither can I really complain too much
about what is a perfect example of fine comic-book storytelling.
What has kept me involved in Murder Me Dead throughout has been the characters, and
their sometimes hard-to-discern motivations. For all his romantic thoughts and
actions, Steven is a murderer at least once over and possibly twice, depending
on what really happened to his ex-wife. Tara, on the other hand, is quite
possibly an expert con artist and at the very least a woman who is exceptionally
good at getting herself and others into very serious trouble. Despite neither of
them being terribly nice people, I still find myself wanting things to work out
for them. Lapham has given us enough sweet moments in their relationship to make
it seem a worthwhile goal, and this book is as much a romance as a crime
thriller.
However, it's the thriller elements, and not
the story of a man and a woman putting their lives back together, that takes
over in this issue. From the beginning, we're given a sense of paranoia and fear
in a sequence that sees Steven watching what has become of Tara. This is
ratcheted up even further when an encounter between Steven and Tara turns into a
chase sequence, going in and out of a crowded jazz club, empty streets and an
occupied apartment, with the threat of violence right behind. While most of me
just wants to know what really has driven Tara, and what really drove Steven's
ex-wife to suicide, I couldn't help but be riveted by the action going on in
this issue.
A lot of that has to do with Lapham's art,
which has been terrific on this book. From long shots to establish the crowd or
the setting and then back into close shots on faces, hands and feet, his use of
jump-cut style visuals helps to give the chase a frantic pace. It doesn't hurt
that his settings are real, with dirt, garbage and water filling the natural
environment of the street, or that his violent scenes are so effectively real
and brutal.
I honestly could have done without most of
this issue, as it's mostly about getting Steven and Tara together, and I'm far
more interested in what's happening after they're together than before. The
action and style of this issue is so perfect, however, that it's hard to
complain, even when Lapham is admittedly not giving me what I wanted.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
