Indie comic darling The Private Eye is back after a three month hiatus and we’ve got a review for you! The name-your-own-price digital comic by Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente has been filled with adult themes, science fiction morsels and hella good art…but is issue #4 good?
The Private Eye #4 (Panels Syndicate)
That’s right, you can literally pay a penny to purchase the comic (right here folks) so in a sense everyone should be reading this book who enjoys comics as the price will always be just right. The fourth issue in the planned 10 issue series opens where we left off, with our protaganist helping a woman find out who killed her sister. It’s the future, where everyone wears elaborate masks when in public and information is king. So king in fact, that there are no police, but instead press.
What is that mask exactly?
As far as unconventional comics go this isn’t too far off the beaten path for most. Really the only difference is the themes aren’t catered to a certain genre of people and the art is structured to fit on a tablet. Pages are laid out in a rectangular fashion. The story is compelling because it deals with a potential future where people can be killed for information. There’s no secret that our private lives are more visible than ever so a story like this, especially with the NSA debacle recently, is ever the more pertinent.
Now that’s some ambiance.
Martin kills it once again in this series, letting the layouts and blank spaces dictate how we’ll feel and move throughout the story. Martin is owning the widescreen format and in some sense this series has been an argument against the conventional comic format. This format allows the artist to capture a more cinematic point of view allowing the edges of the width to seep in and take over.
And once again the color by Muntsa Vicente pops incredibly. There’s a vibe here that reminds me of Brad Simpson’s work on Catalyst Comix. It might be the unconventional color choices used in skylines and shadows, which helps make things pop even more.
Swearing will commence in this comic.
9.5
- Colors pop!
- Great dialogue
- Events don’t progress too much
Is It Good?
Another excellent chapter in this unconventional series. If you’re bored of the usual comics on sale, or just love the hell out of science fiction, particularly science fiction about a potential future that serves as commentary for today, then check this book out!
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