Bleeding Ink comics scored big earlier this year with “Sensory Distortion,” a trade oozing with ’80s horror nostalgia and some great art, but one of the label’s other titles, “Warzone,” suffers from a completely different fate.
In spite of the bloody fight scenes and action in the debut issue, there’s not enough meat to support all the flash and bang.
If Michael Bay could create a comic, it would be something like Warzone.”
The visuals of penciler David Brame and colorist Heather Beckel allow the comic to hold weight with any series by a major publisher. Colorful, fast and polished, this team has the potential to make waves. Brame’s facial expressions on baddies are reminiscent of the work of Greg Capullo and Beckel’s coloring brings out added emotions in every scene.
The real problem, an ailment that also hurt “Sensory Distortion” is the dialogue and story. Jesse Grillo’s plot, although interesting, is too confusing to enjoy. In the first issue, the myriad of characters introduced and killed are almost too many to count. The shifts in time, although needed to tell the story, hurt the pacing. but the worst problem with the plot is that there’s no one to root for, no one to get attached to.
What makes the main character, Johnny, cool enough to warrant his own series?
By the end of the first issue, you may not care enough about him to continue the adventure. With his Shaggy from “Scooby Doo” look and drug problems, there’s nothing particularly eye-catching about him. He looks like a stoner. Maybe that’s the point. But aside from Iron Man and Green Arrow, heroes with drug problems don’t last too long as superheroes.
In order to survive, Johnny has to show he is special. That moment isn’t in the series’ debut issue.
Johnny does have a back story that could be his saving grace however. A war veteran turned drug dealer, Johnny is plagued with flashbacks. These trips down memory lane are beautifully orchestrated, but the returns to the present lack cohesion. In the middle of a botched drug deal, crooked cops included, it’s hard to know what’s going on. It doesn’t help that every character spews meaningless dialogue around and never stands out.
While Johnny isn’t necessarily a bad guy and just someone who is lost, this comic doesn’t make him feel as if he’s worth saving.
But with its solid art, “Warzone” deserves a second issue. Johnny has to become captivating quickly though. Otherwise, this series will get fall into a flashback it’ll never be able to escape from.
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