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Friday, January 12, 2007
First Moon
Reviewing First Moon from AiT/Planet Lar it's clear that writer Jason McNamara and artist Tony Talbert have enthusiasm for comics and some kind of talent for it. The problem is those talents haven't fully shown itself yet.
The first thing to notice in the book is that Talbert's art suffers from the flaws a lot of young artists have. There's stiffness in the figures, the storytelling isn't quite clear in places and faces change shape from panel to panel. The book opens in the 1580s when North America was being colonized by Europeans. The historic scenes are competently done but unimaginative. When the story switches to a domestic scene in modern day California and there Talbert's problems with character work became very clear. It was hard to appreciate what was being set up with these characters because of the flimsy look they are given.
McNamara's story is an interesting concept. First Moon goes back and forth from the 1580s and the present. In the past a culture of people discover the werewolves native to America while in the present a young boy, Ben, discovers the same. The difference is Ben himself is a werewolf, just like his parents. Unfortunately this parallel doesn't work because none of the colonists make an impression. The idea of colonists dealing with this mysterious woman who will not die loses its power when everyone with a speaking role is bland. We can't help see the colonists as anything other than the werewolves do: meat that isn't dead yet.
It's a shame because the moments where the colonists are in crisis over what to do with their captive are some of Talbert's best work. When he experiments with page design and the atmosphere of the endless night of Roanoke Island there's a certain beauty to it that I wish would have lasted longer.
Thankfully the story taking place in the present has some pathos attached to it. Ben sees what he thinks is an invasion upon his house by monsters. He runs away from home and falls into a strange world that time has forgotten. There's an intensity to Ben's escape that resonates in such moments as his ride on an old steam engine. The fatal flaw here is that the outcome of Ben's path is easy to foresee and McNamara still doesn't reveal it until near the end of the book. How Ben and his family is resolve their place in society with their "condition" is cute, though, and the most satisfying part of First Moon.
It's clear McNamara and Talbert have something in them. They just both need to polish up their skills before that something is displayed.
Permanent Link: 12:05 PM |
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