Spring has been a weird series from the start. It was also one of the brightest and most inviting books from Double Take’s line. At times it was confusing, but in a way that made me want to read more, but it still had its fair share of struggles. The fourth issue cleared up the story and plot a lot.
Unfortunately, the fifth issue seems to be dealing with a lot of the same things. There’s a bit of action, there’s an intense cliffhanger, but the series moves away from some of what made it charming in the beginning. We find our main character of the book, Holli, sitting behind a flight simulator practicing for when she’ll need to fly the spaceship that’s crashed under the lake. The cops show up as the people are released from their simulation in which they helped dig the spaceship out and confrontation ensues.
My problem is that the situation feels forced. The advanced aliens are in the med bay of the ship that’s crashed, but Holli is fine and wearing the protective suit and all that. That’s okay I guess. I can buy that the women are injured and can’t do it themselves, but would this ship really be that easily pinned and still work later? I have a problem with that, but I’m trying not to focus on it because it's not the point of the story, just a deus ex machina of sorts.
The real issue is that we’re no longer in that simulation and it’s a shame. It made the story charming and while we couldn’t stay there forever, it would have been nice to maybe see it malfunctioning and one person still experiencing it or something. That and too much time is spent with Holli talking to her mom and watching what’s going on outside. It was a strange POV for the story. I did like the cops and the lifeguards having a showdown. It’s nice to see two branches of authority squaring off like that. Seriously though, it was believable and I’m curious to see what will happen next time.
The art is good, but again too much of the strange behind the head shot of Holli. There’s a few really shaky panels which was a shame because it was during the action scenes. The coloring makes it consistent looking, but for something that’s as funny as cops versus lifeguards, the art really needed to shine and it didn’t.
I had my share of problems with this issue, but I don’t think it’s indicative of the series thus far. It feels more like growing pains as it moves out of its comfort zone and that’s actually a good thing. It can’t be stale and familiar or it won’t be around for long. It still worth picking up and provides some great entertainment, but just know that it’s not perfect, but working on it.
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Spring #5
Story: Bill Jemas, Stan Chou
Script: Bill Jemas
Layouts: Stan Chou, Jonathan Ashley, Allen Watson
Pencils: Derlis Santacruz, Jethro Morales
Publisher: Double Take Comics
Price: $2.50
Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital
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