Writer Rick Remender
Artist: Greg Tocchini
Publisher: Radical Comics
Price: 4.99 US
Mature readers
Originally when I first heard about the premise for this miniseries I was a bit sceptical thinking that Remender was trying to jump on the crime resurgence bandwagon and that it was going to be a huge flop. I’d seen Greg Tocchini’s artwork on some comic over at Marvel but was never impressed with what he’d done. Still though, I was willing to give the book a shot but I’d definitely have to take a look at it first before I plunked down my hard earned cash. A month or two before Book 1 was to be released the owners of my comic store gave me their preview copy as they knew how much of a fan I am of this genre of comics. Nothing had prepared me for what was inside that preview.
The first time that I looked inside the preview I was assaulted by these wild European colors. Tochchini’s artwork was realistic and had improved a thousand fold over what I had seen before. He was mixing mediums coloring the book traditionally while incorporating computer techniques. My jaw dropped. It took me days before I even read the preview as I simply couldn’t stop staring at the artwork. This is something rare for me, at least lately. Then after I finally read the preview I was stoked by Remender’s writing and couldn’t wait for the actual book to ship. It was time to wait.
Even though I was looking out for the book, I still didn’t get to the store in time. It had sold out and it was selling out everywhere. I called my store to see if they could order it for me and one of the owners told me that when he saw how fast It was selling he kept a copy or two for me. Man I don’t remember being that overjoyed over getting a comic.
Holding The last days of American Crime in my hands I couldn’t help but notice how heavy It felt and I glossed over the pages quickly and I saw there was an interview with both Remender and Tocchini In the back along with a sketch section for each character. This was the equivalent of getting a director’s cut of your favourite DVD and it was right out of the gate too. Huge kudos go out to Radical and all of the fine folks responsible. Okay, enough of me gushing over the book, let’s get Into the details.
It’s a few weeks away from the US government’s broadcast of a signal that will render the populace incapable of committing any crimes. At the same time the US is also switching over from cash to electronic payment cards. Needless to say once the news is leaked to the population, rioting, looting commence and people start going bat-shit crazy as a last ditch effort to enjoy themselves before they become mindless drones that tow the line and have no free will of their own. The criminals are trying to get the fuck out of dodge before this signal goes live. Canada has locked down its’ borders, along with Mexico and armed guards will shoot anyone trying to enter the country without valid identification or attempting to sneak in to escape the dreaded “signal”.
Graham Bricke is walking into a slumlord’s wet dream of a building while carrying a can of diesel. As he climbs the stairs to get to where he’s going, he’s offered sex in exchange for that magic hit of H from all sorts of whores promising to fuck you harder than you’ve ever been fucked in your life. We also discover Graham is a recovering addict and he’d love to get high right now but first he needs to take care of a loose end. This loose end is a man tied up in a bathtub while Graham explains why he walked so many blocks to score a can of diesel. Trust me it’s one of those scenes that set the stage for what’s to come in the book perfectly.
Graham then heads over to the local bar where he has to meet a “gardener” to help him pull off a job. While waiting, poor Graham meets one of the hottest femme fatales straight out of film noir’s rich history. He never gets her name before he ends up banging the living fucking hell out of her in the ladies’ bathroom while strangling her at the same time. Yeah. Poor, poor Graham. Only after he finishes does this babe tell him that he just helped her check something off of her “to do list’ What? “Fuck a loser.” Damaged goods baby but goddamn she’s so fuckable and just like a Black Widow she’ll eat you after fucking your brains out.
These two pages above give you a good idea of how much this book will deliver the goods while not falling into the trappings of censorship or pussyfooting around any scene. Once again Radical gets extremely high praise for leaving this scene in the book. Btw, there’s a lot more to this scene than what I’m showing here. If you want to see it go buy the goddamned book already. Enough of me running off on a tangent.
After Graham’s finished he meets the gardener that he advertised for but there’s just one small problem. The femme fatale he just fucked is his gardener’s fiancée. Talk about setting yourself up for disaster right there. The story continues to build to a strong setting for the other 2 books still yet to come and I can’t wait to see how it all plays out. If you find this book, grab it and buy it. You’ll be glad that you did.
This book has the possibility to be as huge as Sin City or 100 Bullets. The movie is already in production with Sam Worthington attached to play Graham Bricke and as a producer, the possibilities are endless.
Recent Comments