You know how Marvel Studios said they were going to try and stop doing origin stories because the viewer had seen too many of them? I really wish ReincarNATE had got that memo. Or at least figured they could have sped past a lot of the setup and moved onto the actual hook, which is Nate can talk to two of his past lives who now help him fight crime. Most of this comic is a very by the books private detective story. Nate is a former cop turned a private eye. He is resented by most of the force, besides Autumn, a cop who is a little sweet on him since she is literally the only woman in the book. Nate has a smart mouth and is in over his head. He also is the only one trying to take down the big bad guy…El Panda, which is one of the lamest bad guy names in history. We don’t know why Nate left the force for sure but get a quick glimpse it was him being set up because he got too close to the “truth.”
Nate then gets shot which causes not his death, not any brain damage, it just magically makes two guys appear only he can see. One is a cowboy and the other a sniper or assassin, both of them are Nate’s previous lives. That is where the comic gets slightly interesting as the pair bring new voices to this very tired story. But before we can get to deep into that the comic is over.
After the main comic is all done, there’s a three-page back up story. It already has Nate working with his past selves and spoils any tension the main story may have on how that relationship will work. It is also way more concise and gets to the point what the main story took 25 pages to do. It even ends on a better cliffhanger, backup story for life!
The art in the main comic is alright; everything is understandably heavy shadowed. Occasional line work and coloring seem to give people facial hair they didn’t have before or have in the next panel. Also, there're a few panels early on where Nate has completely different faces, my favorite where he appears to be a creepy bad guy from the old EC Comics covers. When the shadows don’t over invade and misshapen people, though, there are some great expressions. A lot is told in looks that the word bubbles feels the need to also express. Hopefully, that gets fixed in the future. Just chose one or the other and be more consistent on the faces.
As a whole, this is a pretty forgettable book. Nothing in the story will stick with you afterward nor will any of the characters. Even the two past lives are the epitome of what you mentally picture when I say cowboy and assassin. Hopefully, further issues try something new this rehash just doesn’t cut it.
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ReincarNATE #1 Writer: Michael Moreci Artist: Keith Burns Publisher: Heavy Metal Price: $3.99 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital
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