Carver feels like a 70’s action movie. The story is deep, the action isn’t too heavy, but when it hits… you feel it. It’s a comic with style and presentation and frankly it owns the comic medium. Let’s back up though and figure out what this new series from Z2 Comics is all about. The issue begins with a character named Stacker Lee supposedly breaking the fourth wall, that is he appears to be talking directly to us. It becomes clear that he’s talking to someone, but we’re viewing him from their perspective at the moment which is a great double use of that story device. He actually explains to the reader what Carver is, not who, but what. Carver being our main character, but I’m not going to tell you what Stacker says. That would be like stepping on a villains amazing monologue to give cliffs notes. After this intro we meet Carver who has come to Paris at the request of someone named Catherine, but it’s not clear from the opening why he’s there and what exactly Stacker Lee has to do with anything.
Carver has a Tom Selleck vibe, but with a facial scar so you know he’s fucking cool. Some of Stacker’s goons go to jump him and give him a message and instead of that happening Carver just opens fire on them. He kills all but one guy who can’t believe that everyone else is dead when they were really just there to rough him up and leave. Carver doesn’t care. There’s some back story and other scenes that I’m leaving out, but this interaction with the goons is the bulk of the issue and it’s fantastic!
The writing is sharp. Carver doesn’t spout off one-liners or anything like that, but he does have some great dialogue. He’s just a total badass from beginning to end and you really just want to see more from him. I hope that this is a long running series or that there will be more that follow him before this story whatever the outcome is. Carver is a character you just can’t get enough of.
The artwork is in all black and white and it really fits the story. Since it’s set in Paris the B&W art gives it a noir feel. Again, it reminded me of movies like the original Get Carter and other action movies of the era. The character designs are great and Carver has a presence that’s really hard to get across normally. Most new characters don’t grab your attention the way that Carver does. The action is fluid and easy to follow, but also dynamic. You feel the hits; you flinch at the gun fire it’s all very imposing on the reader.
What I really loved was how many comic book elements this story used. The narration, the lack of narration, going for the tropes, but then calling out how ridiculous the tropes are. It’s a book that battles itself to perfection and that’s exactly what you want from a comic. Though the framework of this story is a bit familiar, the execution is what’s incredible and different. If you love reading comics, then you definitely need to read Carver.
Score: 5/5
Carver: A Paris Story #1 Creator: Chris Hunt Publisher: Z2 Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 11/11/15 Format: Periodical; Print
You can also her me talk about it on this episode of the CBMFP...