I.C.E (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Bayou Blackout is a cop story set in New Orleans. The general gist of the story is about two cops who go to New Orleans to find out more about their friend being shot. The two cops are Cole Matai, an I.C.E agent with a troubled past and Ezra Delgado the RAC (Resident Agent in Charge) that hates paperwork. The people that shot Ezra's friend Joe are mask wearing Chechen Mercenaries, who have come into America illegally (hence the I.C.E), to cause a load of trouble. First things first this book is huge, it's forty pages and it's only 4 bucks. Are they even making money on this book, its forty pages full-color with no adverts. Its damn good value and you should buy it to support that kind of business.
The artwork compliments the cop story look, a lot of the action happens at night, while the talky scenes mostly take place in the station and hospital. The character design is good, especially on the Chechen group, Infektsi, who all wear different masks. The detail on the masks is great, though it is strange that they never take them off, even when they are in their hideout (can never be too prepared, no cops bust’in in and seeing my face). When the Infektsi start their plan the action and explosions are well drawn, in those panels you know these guys are not to be messed with.
The dialogue in most scenes is okay, very normal cop show style dialogue, with a couple cliché lines thrown in. At the very least the character voices feel consistent. One line that really stuck in my craw (is that New Orleans talk?) was when Ezra talks to Cole about Joe being shot, he asks what he should do. To which Cole responds I hear New Orleans has good seafood, if my friend gets shot and you talk about seafood I'd think you're an uncaring asshole. Now obviously it's meant as a 'you know we're going to New Orleans', a simple 'get the car' might of worked better.
Due to the length of the book this really does feel like an episode of a TV show. One that I'll tune into for the next episode. I'm intrigued as to what the Infektsi are up to and how Cole is going to stop them.
Score: 3/5
I.C.E. - Bayou Blackout #1 Writer: Doug Wagner Artist: Daniel Hillyard Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff Publisher: 12-Gauge Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 6/5/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital