Dominic Fortune #1

Ever since I was disappointed meeting Howard Chaykin at a con, I've kind of been avoiding his work. I decided to give Dominic Fortune #1 a chance since it seemed thematically similar to American Flagg, Power and Glory, and the other "adultish" type work that I used to dig from Chaykin.

Maybe those stories wouldn't hold up for me anymore, since I found very little to like in with this MAX series. Fortune is a rogueish mercenary who isn't funny enough to be interesting. Instead, he's merely unlikable. The world he lives in is filled with perverts, drunks, and whores, so it's really not a pleasant place to read about. I have certainly enjoyed other comics with this type of "adult" atmosphere, but I need a more riveting plot or at least a more likable protagonist to get through them. As near as I can tell, Fortune has been hired to guard 3 older jerks as they go on their booze-fueled party through 1930's era California. As a bonus, there's plenty of loose women and racism tossed in to make everyone deplorable. Just not enough there for me, I'm afraid.

Chaykin's art takes some getting used to, as always. Fortune has the square jaw of a hero while the other men look more varied. Every woman in this comic looks like a prostitute and since I believe roughly half of them are portrayed servicing a fellow in some fashion, I suppose that art style is appropriate. Again, just not my cup of tea.

Average