By Sam King

A ship, a mutiny, and a secret: the ingredients tossed together to make up the first issue of Image Comics’ Shanghai Red. A story of a girl out for vengeance, masquerading as a man, trying to get back the life that was taken from her. Where it will go next, who knows? If Red succeeds, we will see. This is a pretty good time though, that’s for sure.

We start with a guy talking to a group of men below deck on a ship. He says they can go free or sign up as crew. Each was shanghaied; but one man, known as Jack, takes the opportunity to kill the messenger and begins a mutiny. The shanghaied group say Jack is mad, but Jack is just out for blood because of what was taken from…him? No, HER. Jack is actually a girl, named Red. Being the eldest daughter in a family with no sons, her father taught her how to fight and shoot. That was before she was shanghaied. Now she wants to get back at the men who shanghaied her and took her from her sister and mother. The remaining people onboard don’t seem so keen about having Red in charge. That conflict and learning about Red’s past are the predominant storylines in this issue.

I liked the art style of this one. There are a lot of shadows and indistinct faces and shapes. It adds a lot of interesting panel compositions that prevent a limited setting from becoming boring. All the action takes place on the ship, and the settings we see apart from the ship are those presented in a flashback of Red’s life before being shanghaied. The color blends of purple, yellow, red, blue, and black make for an interesting palette. The distinction between present action and flashback scenes is very clear in terms of color presentation, which I thought was a good way of breaking things up a bit. The colors play a lot into keeping a pretty basic idea and limited setting from getting boring. The art was handled well.

The story so far is, as I mentioned, pretty basic. It isn’t bad, it is just straightforward, which I like. I also like the maritime theme, being a big fan of pirate stories. This isn’t a pirate story in the most common sense, but it is definitely an interest-piquing comic for a lot of the same reasons. Stories involving ships on open sea force characters to adapt to brutal waves and weather not just physical storms, but emotional ones, in ways unexpected sometimes. I love when the setting and events can reflect what characters are going through, like a mirror of sorts. I might read into these types of aspects too much, but I can’t say I get tired of it. It just gives me more enjoyment.

While I wouldn’t call it the comic of the year, I will say that it is a good time. I like Red so far, as she seems like someone willing to do whatever it takes to reach her goals, even if she doesn’t like what she has to do. She’s tough, and I definitely want to see what happens next. I am wondering if we will get more ship time, or if the rest of the story will be landlocked because right now I am not sure where things are headed. I like being able to question the future of stories, and I hate when things get predictable, so having multiple questions and directions by the end of the issue is a good sign. Good art, a solid idea, and an action-filled opening make for a strong start for the series. I will definitely be waiting to see where this one goes.

Score: 4/5

Shanghai Red #1
Image Comics