Customer Reviews

The Last Days of American Crime, Book 1

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In fact, this is the complete 3-part series published by Radical. This is not the "Book 1" but all the 3 issues of the mini-series. You do not need to buy the so called "books 2 and 3" which are the second and third part of the series and are part of this "bbok 1".

Rick Remender tells the story of desperate people willing to do whatever it takes to indulge their vices one final time. Heath Hudson from Fear Agent (Fear Agent Vol. 1: Re-Ignition (v. 1)) - the best known book by Remender - was a flawed hero who had difficulty to accept his own guilt. Here the characters are unapologetic villains who seem to have no moral although we start to see some cracks in the second issue.

Contrary to some other artists working on books published by Radical where the art is static, Greg Tocchini is a real comic-book artist who knows how to create dynamic panels. I only knew Tocchini for his art on Ion (Ion (Book 1): The Torchbearer (Green Lantern)) where he was paired with an inker and a colorist. Here he is drawing and painting himself and the result is absolutely amazing.

If you're looking for Remender's Marvel/Punisher style work, this isn't for you. It's a gruesome, violent futuristic crime story. But if you like crime comics, this is one of the best of last year. Very, very good.

I felt compelled to write a review that conflicts a recommendation. Greg Tocchini does a remarkable job illustrating the sequence design with gorgeous digital coloring/ painting. He has a strong understanding of anatomy, stylish layout and sexy energy to his drawings. The problem lies in the writing which is often frequent with Rick Remender's body of work (Strange Girl, Gigantic). He seems to understand the technical writing process and panel direction. But the weakness lies in a lack of freshness, originality, creative thinking, emotional resonance, believable dialogue, structure and character/ scene moments that has genuine empathy. The comic reads like a cookie cutter concept and sloppy execution to follow the story. My recommendation is to pick up the 1st issue due to Greg Tocchini illustration if you're engaged to buy comic only for the art. As far as story and character development go pick up Ed Brubaker's CRIMINAL series on trade. CRIMINAL is smart, taut, suspenseful, emotional and a reading experience that'll sit with you for days.

I'm a huge fan of Remender's work. Fear Agent, Vol. 1: Re-Ignition is one of the best comics in the last 15-20 years. That said, I was blown away by Last Days of American Crime. Remender is at his best when he mixes genres and he does that here to perfection. It's sci fi. It's noir. It's sci fi noir. The story has all the twists and turns of a Hammett or Chandler, but infused with modern sensibilities. There are no stereotypes here. Helped along by Greg Tocchini's amazing artwork, the book moves at a breakneck pace. As noted elsewhere this is not just Book 1, but the entire first story arc. An amazing value for any fan of great sequential storytelling.

It's a great first issue. Does exactly what an introduction should do. Artwise, It establishes the style and the overall mood, which is absolutely terrific. Tocchini does wonders with the storytelling. The dialogues could be a bit better... some of the mexican-english is horribly written, makes no sense at all. But the feeling of the characters and the anticipation for the story is there. Definitely buy it.