Kade is a new full-color book from a studio of like-minded artists with an impressively produced but ultimately disappointing first issue. I knew I was in trouble when I read the text piece on the inside front cover and realized that this was the origin story and all the setup that really should take place in a first issue. Even more disappointing, this text-based story of Kade's birth, adoption and training is far more interesting than the somewhat generic story that takes place in the pages of the comic itself. O'Reilly's desire to hit the ground running is admirable, but without giving us a real grounding in the character in the pages of the comic, the characters really fail to connect with the reader. The art side of the book is more impressive, full-color work in the style of Francisco Herrera or Humberto Ramos, although honestly it's not really my cup of tea either.
The closing pages of this book talk about the upcoming Kade animated series, and that sort of set my alarm bells ringing as well. New books that come out as part of a "multimedia package" tend to be weaker than those that were created solely as comics, and Kade unfortunately falls into that category. The animated series is clearly where the origin story that was imparted in the text piece will be told, and while that's a problem on its own if the series were out, it's an even bigger problem when the animated series doesn't even exist yet. There's a feeling of being dropped right in the middle here, and O'Reilly and company are trying to make Kade a cool character of destiny without having earned it.
Leaving aside the flaws of starting the story essentially in the middle, Kade has some weaknesses of execution in general. The narrative captions are cheesy and overwritten, like something out of a bad fantasy novel, and the dialogue is very much the same. It might work as a sort of ironic humorous commentary on the cliches of fantasy storytelling, but it's being played straight. It also draws comparisons to videogame fantasy stories, light excuses for story that lead to a badass protagonist who can fight his way through numerous enemies.
On the art and production side, Kade is more impressive, but still not flawless. Garcia's storytelling choices are sound, and he does give Kade a powerful and swift look in his choice of camera angles. The designs, while not terribly innovative, are solid enough and easy enough to tell apart, and Palacios's colors, while a little bit garish at times, are generally solid and bright. The lettering is a strangely unprofessional element in this generally professional production, however, bigger than it needs to be and sometimes featuring odd spacing or sudden font size changes.
Truthfully, I don't like giving this negative a review to a bunch of guys who have clearly put their heart into the book, but nothing about Kade really makes me want to return for another visit.
