There is so much nostalgia in today’s entertainment it’s becoming a cliché. Case in point David Hasselhof’s latest 80’s style music video. Miami Vice recently got a comic book reboot and it was fantastic, largely due to the art, but how is the dreaded second issue (which usually slumps)? Is it good?
Miami Vice: Remix #2 (IDW Publishing)
Jim Mahfood is the master of spectacle. The guy just knows how to create a scene that’s rife with energy and interesting to look at. He also is doing the lettering in this series, which is pretty cool too. That makes even single words pop and get new life. This issue however I had a hard time reading as it gets a bit messy. After a while I grew a bit bored because it was hard to read. That issue aside though, Mahfood’s art continues to look fantastic. Panels aren’t reduced to boxes but jump out at you and pop.
The story so far follows Miami police detectives Tubbs and Crocket as they track down the creator of a new drug. The drug appears to be concocted by a man who practices voodoo, which might explain why people are turning into literal zombies. Writer Joe Casey is going all in with the nostalgia machine that is the ’80s with plenty of references and attitude.
Super cool shapes to these panels!
This issue gets a little bogged down with exposition, but there’s a fantastic sequence with our protagonists taking on a zombie. The story also ends on an interesting twist with Crocket’s pet alligator biting off more than he can chew, heh, and the stakes raised adequately. Overall though the issue has a few fun moments, but overall doesn’t quite have the energy of the first. Call it the curse of the second issue.
Some might take umbrage with the depiction of women in this issue as they seem to be used as window dressing here and there and nothing more. I haven’t watched the original TV show, so maybe the depiction of the women lines up, but it starts to become a bit grating when every depiction of a woman is a perked up butt or breasts that are thinly veiled with cloth hanging by a thread. By issue’s end I started to wonder what a strong female character could do to this series (probably make it better) and it only made the ass and breast shots more obnoxious. Of course, if you are a warm blooded male in the need of scantily clad women you can’t go wrong here; Mahfood certainly knows how to draw a sexy woman.
What is he saying?
Is It Good?
The art is one riff after another of free flowing jazz that’s exciting and spectacular. The story is otherworldly and interesting, but does get a bit heavy on the exposition.
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