I have been burned by so very many independent super-hero
books. The Heretic. Danger Unlimited. Ultraverse. Comics Greatest World.
Basically most of Image’s output. So it takes a lot for me to pick up a new
indie super-hero book. But I’ve enjoyed Francesco Francavilla’s Marvel work so
much I felt I had to give the Black Beetle a chance.
I’m glad I did. This is a moody, atmospheric piece that
really hits the pulp target. The Black Beetle is a sort of mix of the Blue
Beetle, Dr. Mid-Nite, the Spider, and Lobster Johnson. He’s got some sweet eye
bubbles, and he totes a gun. This guy is not afraid to shoot Nazis, in keeping
with the pulp roots Francavilla is clearly going for.
The story is very brief, it is basically the Beetle taking
on a few jetpack-wearing Nazis and acquiring a mysterious Egyptian artifact. There
is enough backstory that it is clear Francavilla has spent a lot of time
planning this out, this reads like a dream project. That is, the passion is
clear on the page.
Francavilla loves this color palette. This thing is all
blacks and reds, with swatches of color to bring out moods and emotions in
certain panels. Another of Francavilla’s strengths is panel design. No two
pages look the same, the layout and panel grids on each page move and shift to
enhance the story. The panels vary in size and location to increase the
atmosphere of violence.
I definitely dug the first issue, but I’m sad to see the
next one will be $3.99. That means I’ll probably wait on the trade for the rest
of this. I’ll get the whole package for a more reasonable price. But for fans
of noir and pulp, this is worth checking out.
Good
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