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FOUR WOMEN #1
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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DC Comics/Homage imprint
Writer/Artist: Sam Kieth
Inks: Jim Sinclair
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Naghmeh Zand
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Price: $2.95 US/$4.95 CAN |
The second of Keith's projects for Homage is more like Fried Green Tomatoes than The Maxx, light on the surreal weirdness and heavy on the interpersonal drama. While this sounds like a recipe for great comics, it doesn't seem to play to Kieth's strengths, and there's a feeling of being spoonfed a lot of information rather than having it play out naturally. Where Kieth's style shows through most clearly is in the introduction of a mystery and some jumping around in time, as well as the commonly-present psychological trauma theme that was present in both The Maxx and Zero Girl to some degree. Despite some
very nice artwork and some interesting characters, some ham-fisted narration and
characterization results in a weaker opening issue than Kieth usually provides.
I'm interested in these
characters, and it's clear that Kieth has put some thought into them, but I
think he made a mistake by having Donna narrate the series. She's talking
directly to the reader, and the result is that I felt like I was reading the
proposal for the book during the character introductions rather than having the
information imparted in a more natural way. The message we get is clear, for
sure: Donna is sure these four women have an unbreakable bond and that in times
of trouble they'd stick together. The message from the rest of the series, that
something bad happened and Donna's feelings proved untrue, is also clear.
Unfortunately, the lack of subtlety Kieth uses in making these points is a bit
of a turnoff.
Leaving aside the narration,
there's some interesting writing going on here. The "fun girl talk"
conversations in the car feel a little forced as well, not much like real
speech, but Kieth does provide some humor in the exchanges between Bev, Cindy
and Marion especially. I'm reminded of Terry Moore's dialogue, which is often
highly unrealistic but usually quite funny or insightful as well. Kieth's
strengths have always been an ability to provide unique weirdness and
psychological examination of his characters, and the latter is definitely
present here, if clumsily presented.
The other strength of Kieth's
writing is his ability to convey a mystery, and he does a nice job of that here.
The clear implication is that Marion was raped while the other women didn't help
her, but we don't know the important part of the story, namely the actions that
Bev and Donna took as a result and what the fallout from that is (or will be)
and I'll be curious to see that part of the story unfold.
One area where I have no complaints is in the artwork. While it doesn't have the painted look that much of Zero Girl had, Kieth's art is always attractive
and his work here is no exception. Unique faces, strange perspectives and
oddly-shaped versions of normal world elements like clothing, cars and gas
stations, combined with Sinclair's colors, makes for an odd and unusual visual
style that is captivating.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
