One-shot’s are probably the hardest thing to create in the comic medium. If you think about it creators have one issue to introduce the world, the characters and conflict/point of the story. That also means that if they fail in any one of those categories that the entire issue could fail. That being said let’s find out if The Return of Jeremy Munroe managed to rise or sink. The story is actually pretty simple to explain. A lot of the comic is actually told through the artwork which is a huge plus. We open with a woman, Linda, standing at the grave of her deceased fiancé. Before they could wed he was killed and now in mourning she just wants to see him one more time. Lucky her he shows up and though she questions his return some, she’s happy. How could she not be? The problem of course is that it’s not Jeremy. Where is Jeremy and will he show up to stop this imposter from harming Linda?

It’s a double edge sword with this one. I can’t tell you much about the story because it would make it pointless to read yourself, but at the same time the hook of the story is the ending. It’s a quick read because the art is the driving force of the narrative, but it’s very enjoyable. One criticism I would give to the story is that it’s relying on you connecting with the characters and I didn’t. Maybe it was the cover or the title, but I really knew exactly where this was going from the very beginning. That’s not to say that others will or that someone else might not connect on an emotional level, but I didn’t. I’m not downgrading it because of that either.

The art work is very strong. Brent Giles has a variety of angles that he uses to keep this story that takes place in one setting, interesting looking. It’s like a movie that stays in the same room, you have to be creative to keep it interesting and that’s exactly what Giles does. Giles gives the characters realistic facial expressions and while I didn’t emotionally connect to Linda, I did believe her emotions to be earnest and true.

I would say that this is a successful one-shot; you learn everything you need to in order for the story to make sense and be rewarding in the end. While I’ve read similar stories I was less moved by this one, but for a comic reader that’s looking to branch out from mainstream comics I would definitely recommend it.

Score: 4/5

Writer: Michael Edwards Artist: Brent Giles Publisher: E&G Comics Price: $4.00 + shipping If you're interested in the book email Michael at: gatecrasher6@gmail.com or Brent at: brent@figservices.com