On the run from the law, packing heat and a devil may care attitude. That’s the kind of attitude a fugitive story should have.
“The Brothers James #1†by Ryan Ferrier with art by Michael Walsh embraces these ideals in one wildly enjoyable ride.
The story is about two brothers, John and Jack James, who are on the run after murdering two people. While making a pit stop at a seedy diner they get themselves into even more trouble with some roughs.
As far as two friends/siblings on the run stories go, this one so far seems to be one of the better ones. Ferrier does a fine job of portraying the characters as the worst possible human beings anyone will ever meet. The brothers do come across less horrible than the other characters, but there is still that black cloud hovering over them that makes them terrible people.
One problem with the writing is that Ferrier insists on telling every little detail about everything. This is so bad that he tells the injuries people sustain even though the reader can clearly see what happened to that character. He even tells if a character is dead or not. It’s pretty obvious from the art that a bullet to the head means that character is dead. These little details derail the narrative somewhat and make it seem like Ferrier thinks his readers are idiots.
Walsh went for a basic black and white pencil drawing style and it surprisingly works. For a story that’s as simple as things having an art style that does a lot at once will only take away the impact of the tone. One problem is that he does tend to get lazy with the faces. There are times when the characters have none or a very basic facial design. The times when he goes all out with the faces the characters do take on their true identities.
“The Brothers James #1†puts the petal to the metal and shoots anything that gets in its way. The characters are interesting and the art brings it to life. Despite the unneeded narrative parts this comic is worth reading while evading state troopers.
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