Sunday, April 09, 2006

CON SWAG: ECCC

Still trying to cover the books I pick up at the cons, here's another one:

On one of my trips down artist alley at last weekend's big show in Seattle, the Emerald City Comic Con, I spotted the covers to Rash from Narwain Publishing.

Rash was one of their launch titles that had caught my eye, but I hadn't been able to pick up yet. I remember seeing the artwork in the solicit for this and thinking the linework and coloring looked very intriguing. So, I went ahead and bought issues 1 and 2 from the writer/colorist/creator, Didier Arpin.

Rash - issue number 1 and 2 - 32 pages, $3.99
Narwain Publishing


Story/Concept - As I think the creator was explaining when I picked these up, the story in these two issues really read as one. That is to say, issue one by itself isn't that solid of a story, it leads into issue two, but the books together work rather well. There're lots of interesting visuals, with some especially strong coloring, a mix of cell shading and classic European painted albums (the writer/colorist works as an animation director). Also, things play out in an intriguing fashion, with a nice reveal and climax.

Writing - While the scripting here didn't stand out, nor the characters, overall it was an enjoyable tale. Also, I think future issues would show increased appreciation for both.

Art - Patrick Gagne works in a cool style reminiscent of Ramos and artists of the like, but the coloring matches up well and is superb.

Overall - RECOMMENDED - I'm not sure if there are more issues on the way here or not, but I would follow them if there were. I mentioned the characters were a bit lacking, but this story really serves as a warm up for the books titular character, who we start to get a good sense of by the finish, and want to tag along with on his further adventures.

www.narwain.com

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