New Comic Wednesday: GRAND PASSION, love and larceny

By pghhead -

GRAND PASSION  #1  (Dynamite Entertainment, November 16 release date)  Writer: James Robinson.  Art: Tom Feister.   Colors: David Curiel.  Letters: Simon Bowland.  MATURE READERS. Explicit content, language and images.

 

   Veteran writer James Robinson has had this project on the back-burner for three years.  It finally sees the light of day as Dynamite releases the first issue this week. What a bright and very welcome light it is!  GRAND PASSION is a unique blend of romance and crime portrayed in a gritty, grim style as befits the finest of hard-boiled crime movies.

GrandPassion01 Cov A Cassaday

  As Robinson explains it in a statement that has been quoted and posted on many a comics news site:  “Something I’ve noticed lacking in a lot of comics is unbridled romance. The crazy kind when it’s all life and death and love at first sight, so combining that with the hard-boiled crime milieu was something that really appealed to me. This is my attempt at doing something equal parts crazy love and crazy violent.”

 

     Crazy good is what it is.  The first issue moves forward like a bullet train.  Even though there are enough quiet moments - - you can sense the tension boiling underneath.

 

GP01 14 copy 600x900

   It’s a simple enough story. The magic is in the story-telling. Steve and Mabel are bank robbers. They carefully plan each stick-up and use different methods each time.  They don’t stay in one place for long.  When we are first introduced to the pair they are completing a successful robbery in Vermont.  

 

   Their next job is planned for a southern Illinois town, where Deputy James “Mac” McNamara has just landed a new job, hoping for a new beginning after losing his wife. It’s a sleepy and boring small town where everybody knows everybody, and the sheriff bears animosity towards Mac. 

 

    Mac mets Steve and Mabel just as they are exiting the bank after another robbery.  A gunfight ensues.  Mac falls in love with Mabel.  We don’t know if the feeling is mutual, but we do learn that Mabel lives by a strict thieves code that says she needs to answer by killing him.

 

 It’s all over before the reader has time to take a deep breath. Looking forward to Issue #2.

   

 

BC RATING SYSTEM

 

   STORY:  We love the pacing as well as the background details that Robinson adds to the flavor. Not much new romance this issue, but plenty of crime and drama.  2 POINTS.

 

ART:  Feister has a nice, crisp cinematic style that goes right along with the Robinson’s story approach. The use of very narrow multiple panels to indicate a lack of expression or reaction, and the flashing lights of a railway crossing are especially effective.  2.5  POINTS

 

COVER:  Clean and crisp like the story. Tells you what you need to know.  1.5 POINTS

 

READ AGAIN?  Yes. Too much fun not to read a second time. 1 POINT.

 

RECOMMEND?  Yes. If you like crime comics and you want something a little different, check this out. (Also look for VIOLENT LOVE from Image, exploring similar ground but in a different way. 1 POINT.

 

TOTAL RATING: 8 POINTS. Prime crime, made to order. Don’t pass it up.  

 

 

 

     


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Robert Kirkman: Invincible, Walking Dead, Wolf-Man

By -
Image
I wasn't actually a huge fan of Robert Kirkman when I first started reading his books.  He was competent, sure, but I didn't see the appeal-- The Irredeemable Ant-Man was a boring side story in the middle of  Civil War and  The Initiative (although I've since changed my mind about this), and his  Ultimate X-Men run was, in many places, a mixed bag (although I did very much enjoy his "Phoenix?" storyline).  And  Marvel Zombies  just seemed like a ridiculous idea--not that I bothered to try it at the time. Now, though?  I've completely reevaluated my opinion on his work, and when his name is attached to a project, I'm far more likely to give it a look.  I don't know if I'd classify him as a master storyteller or a comics icon--but he's very skilled, he has an incredible knack for dialog, and he writes stories that, no matter how ridiculous, seem real .  In a medium where characters frequently violate the rules of physics, that's not alway...
Read more

more random readings from May 2009

By pghhead -
Image
What else did I finish reading last month?  Here’s a cross-section of various titles . . . . . . . . . WITCHBLADE #126 “War Of The Witchblade Part 2” by Ron Marz and Stejepan Sejic  (Top Cow/Image) Preface:  Now here’s an interesting concept! = In order to attract new readers to its’ titles Top Cow is giving out free books each month as part of it’s Let Us Win You Over project.  ( www.topcow.com/freecomics )  Every month it’s a different title. And they work through different comics shops each month as well.  In April the title was Witchblade #126 and one of the participating dealers was Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, DE (my preferred supplier) so voila! - - - I find a copy in my hands. Since the last time I explored the Witchblade series the mythology has expanded to a battle between the forces of light and dark with each side choosing its agents on Earth, hence the Darkness vs. the Witchblade.  I’m still not overly interested in this typ...
Read more

Meeting writer Lance Parkin . . . . .

By pghhead -
Image
THE AUTHOR SIGNINGS AT CAPTAIN BLUE HEN COMICS 11/07/2009 Opportunities to meet authors, chat with them and ask questions in relaxed and casual surroundings don’t occur often. So, it was a real treat to be introduced to three separate writers on the same day, at the same location. I opted to ask all three writers (Greg Cox, Lance Parkin and Dave Thompson) the same opening question: At what point did you decide to pursue what you do as a career? The early ambition of Lance Parkin was to be a journalist but he became disillusioned as he learned more about the position and didn’t pursue it. He was an early and forever fan of Doctor Who and loved the novelizations. At the age of 23 he thought to himself “I can do the same thing. I can write as well as this.” At that time Virgin (the publisher) were putting out two Doctor Who novels per month and were looking for more writers. They were willing to accept unsolicited submittals ...
Read more