Written by Joshua Dysart
Art by Alberto Ponticelli
Published by TKO Studios
When I heard that the team behind The Unknown Soldier comic books from a few years back were teaming up again, I immediately took notice. I saw that it was for a new publisher and I ordered a copy of the trade paperback (TKO Studios has the entire mini series out in TPB or single issues to binge right away).
I expected something really great.
This book however, completely blew away my expectations.
I was legitimately haunted by this book after reading it.
Eddie is a homeless guy making his way around Venice Beach.
We first see him going around the beach and meeting the various characters, who eventually become embroiled into the mystery the book presents.
Dysart makes Eddie a fully realized character from the start. He hints that Eddie had a life before being a homeless person. He also shows us the landscape of Venice Beach in a natural and accessible way. It’s easy to follow who is who and what their situation is all about.
Eddie’s son also seems to be headed towards Venice Beach to meet up with his father. There is something strange about their relationship(it eventually gives us one of the strongest revelations of the book) There are a lot of balls in the air. Eddie then, in a rather vile scene, discovers the body of Tessa, a girl he had seen only hours before. It’s a brutal scene and opens up a lot more questions.
So Eddie starts to go out around Venice Beach to find out who killed Tessa. The book turns into a kind of noir kind of story that has its own unique tone. I have never seen anything quite like it. Kudos to Dysart for giving the book a literary flavor that I haven’t seen from a comic book before. Dysart seems to also know this world well and the research is impeccable. You feel like you know these people.
As the book goes on, Eddie becomes an unreliable character. A bigger conspiracy also forms. And to say more would wreck the wonderful twists and turns that this book provides. I had no idea what was coming right until the very last page. That’s quite impressive indeed and shows what an incredible writer Dysart is.
The art by Ponticelli is tops too. It’s expressive and brutal in just the right places. Dysart and Ponticelli have created a sublime book that grabs you and doesn’t let you go. It’s haunting in every sense of the word. TKO has let these creators produce a book that is unmissable. The quality is tops and was a hell of a strong entry into the comic book world.
RATING: A+
