Kerry Callen has a rare talent in comics, which is seemingly infallible comic timing. Halo & Sprocket provides a laugh with each story in every issue so far, and while the high concept is wacky, the execution is down-to-earth. The result? A funny book that is easy to relate to, and which one can come onto fresh with every issue. One would think that the jokes about naivete and how an angel and a robot look at the world might get old, but so far Callen has put a new spin on each story in each issue, and the book provides a light look at some daily philosophies of life along with the laughs that go with it.
It's kind of fun that Callen hasn't explained the "secret origin" of Halo and Sprocket. Kate lives with a robot and an angel, and though it's definitely presented as odd, it isn't really the focus of the book. Instead, Kate serves as one of three important viewpoints, as Callen uses the characters to explore a variety of questions. It's not unlike the act of a stand-up comedian, poking fun at universal events in a way that anyone can relate to.
However, just because the topics of discussion are the focus of the story, that doesn't mean the characters have no personality. Kate's sweet nature and flexibility is displayed in the way she deals with her unusual roommates, and though both Halo and Sprocket have a naivete about the ways of the world, each a different sort of viewpoint from the other. Halo almost represents the emotional side, while Sprocket represents the intellectual. Even that is somewhat simplistic, however, because Halo has some logical sense to her that Sprocket lacks, and Sprocket has emotions that one wouldn't expect from your average robot. Also, while Kate provides a ground point for the two fantastic characters, she doesn't always need to be there except for the punchline, as demonstrated in the first story, or sometimes not even then, as depicted in the third.
Callen's artwork is simple but effective, and plenty of the jokes come through in the visuals as well as the dialogue. The "angry Halo" is a hilarious visual joke, and in fact the entire "About Face" story is filled with that kind of visual moment. The shocked look on the kid's face at the end of "The Little Things" is likewise very important. More to the point, Callen's artwork is enjoyable to look at, professionally done but not rendered in a way that distracts from the simplicity of the comedy or acts like it has anything to prove.
Perhaps most importantly, and demonstrated this issue as in every issue, Callen has absolutely dead-perfect comedy timing. The punchlines of all three stories are worth a laugh out loud, and Callen seems to have no end of little trivial life moments that Halo and Sprocket can misunderstand to humorous effect. In this issue in particular, I enjoyed their take on that bane of existence telemarketers, as they get the revenge we all wish we could not by being mean or particularly clever, but just by being hopelessly unclear on the cynicism that would usually prevent such a conversation taking place on the phone.
