If you are looking for a change of pace in your average comic book reading, then I whole heartedly would like to present to you this little gem of a comic from the writing skills of Joe Keatinge with the smooth and sweet skillful stylistic impressions rendered by Leila Del Duca.  These two have created in Shutter a Lara Croft/Indiana Jones hybrid “It Girl” for a generation way ahead of ours with mush more bold use of color. It looks like one hell of a place to live. Covering the recent and inadvertent adventures of Kate Christopher, Shutter tells her story.  That story is that she was once considered the greatest and grandest adventurer in the land that came from a long linage of equal adventurers.  The only thing is that Kate doesn’t want anything to do with adventuring anymore.  She just wants to live her life free of that burden, living in her posh pad with her talking cat alarm and friends. That of course is all nice and good, but apparently there are forces revealed to be unknown siblings of hers who want her dead and gone and they are actively at work in doing as such through attacks, bombs, and other sinister means. There has been a ton of collateral damage in their pursuit, so Kate has left the confines of the city and returned back to another place that she never wanted to return to, her childhood home.

At the home, a butler who has served the family for a pretty long time (maybe too long) awaits with the news that her siblings have beaten her to the home and are waiting for her. What happens next plays out through the pages of issue #4.  That and some back story as to how the butler has managed to serve for the length of time that he has.  Add a little view of the assassin’s side of the story and Keatinge and Del Duca have once again crafted and extremely impressive comic.

What makes this Issue (as well as the others) so great is the thoroughness in which Keatinge writes.  He covers all sides, never giving away too many details, but looking at the mystery from every possible angle.  These views make Shutter a complex and mysterious read that goes hand in hand with the adventure and “fun” that takes place through the pages.

With Del Duca’s art, one word keeps coming up within my mind.  That word is DETAIL. You really need to read this comic a couple of times to get the full feel of it.  The art is complex, flowing, and full of detail in every corner.  It is something to behold and works to maximum effect in making Keatinge’s words jump out at the reader.

Shutter is not mainstream, but it is.  It is the “cool” kid that can get away with wearing anything and still be cool.  It simply has something that makes it pop with each successive issue.  Things are getting tense and answers are beginning to trickle in.  I am looking forward to reading every bold, detailed, complex, and thorough element presented as it comes through.

Score: 5/5

Writer: Joe Keatinge Artist: Leila Del Duca Publisher: Image Comics Price: $3.50 Release Date: 7/9/14 Format: Ongoing, Print/Digital