It’s rare that two of my interests intersect, but when they do, it’s a beautiful thing. I love cooking and movies, so any time I get to sit in a theater that’s also a restaurant is a literal feast for the senses. I love working out and I love anime – hence half of my cardio playlist features themes from My Hero Academia and Chainsaw Man. I love comic books and I love music, and Deep Cuts #1 is a beautiful blend of the two.
Deep Cuts #1, titled “What It Means”, rewinds the clock back to New Orleans in 1917. Charles Stewart, a young clarinet player, yearns to be part of the jazz bands that pass in and out of his hometown. With the help of his friend Jack Cartier, he finally manages to make his dream come true – but learns that the jazz circuit is far from what he imagined.
This marks yet another Image Comics launch from Kyle Higgins, who joins forces with his Ordinary Gods co-writer Joe Clark to bring Charles’ journey to life. It’s also a very surprising departure: up to this point, most of Higgins’ work has been in the superhero or science fiction realm. As a fan of Higgins’ work, I admire his tendency to shift genres on a dime as well as the research that he and Clark have put into their script. Everything from Charles’ stumbles in learning to be a better musician to Jack’s desire for fame getting the better of him is given the space to breathe, especially as this comic clocks in at a whopping 60 pages.
It’s also one of the most gorgeous-looking books on the stand thanks to Danilo Beyruth. Beyruth packs a wealth of detail into his work, particularly in the musical scenes. Whole panels close in on Charles and his fellow musicians as they perform, showing fingers flying over piano keys as well as lips pursing to blow the perfect note on a woodwind. The colors from Igor Monti are also a large part of what makes the book so gorgeous to look at. New Orleans is exactly the sun-drenched, vibrant city it is in real life, and its night sky is lined with vibrant hues of purple and blue. I’m extremely thankful that Monti also gives a wide range of color to the various skin tones, resulting in distinct characters. But special credit should go to letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou for managing to find a way to actually incorporate musical notes into the lettering, resulting in a comic that’s truly musical.
The one rub of the comic is that it’s tackling a musical genre that’s predominantly the work of Black artists…and two white men are the writers. I appreciate that Higgins and Clark have a love for jazz, and that Clark’s actually extremely knowledgable about the genre due to his composing work. But in my eyes, having a Black co-writer would have helped enhance the experience as they could bring a different perspective to the field.
Deep Cuts #1 launches a series that serves as a love letter to the impact jazz has had on the world of music. Music fans and comic fans alike should pick it up, and I hope the rest of the entries are just as well crafted.
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