Advance Review: Going to the Chapel #1

Think Wedding Crashers, The Runaway Bride and Die Hard, with a smidgen of Pulp Fiction and you kind of get the idea of of what Spencer and Locke creator / writer David Pepose is aiming for in this new series from Action Lab Comics.

We join the action on the wedding day; firstly with Emily, the bride to be who is having a case of cold feet with doubts about her chosen groom and the future.Â Is her life as she knows it about to end?Â Help is kind of on hand with a family focused on the small things and a Grandma who advocates “a small piece on the side”!Â We also get to meet Jesse, who is more than comfortable with the impending nuptialsÂ as he, his best man, the vicar and a bar full of people get to hear about the wedding.Â Finally, and probably the most crucial part, also on hand is the Bad Elvis gang who via their leader Tom, have decided to invite themselves along to the big bay, and help the almost wedded couple by taking their wedding presents along with a certain necklace.Â But for Emily, is the robbery a way for her to escape her own wedding?

David Pepose is a writer who is certainly on the rise.Â Spencer and Locke has recentlyÂ started its second volume.Â As with his previous work, Pepose is again in mash up territory, though this time with movie themes rather than comic strips.Â The dialogue is very observational in nature, keying on two distinct wedding possibilities; “I do” and “I am not sure”.Â The pace of the book works really well, giving the reader a chance to get to know the main characters prior to their chaos that becomes the reader’s entertainment.Â One of the key elements to the story is well placed; not being too obvious allows other aspects to come into the fore.

The art is provided by Gavin Guidry who delivers a book that is full of characters.Â Guidry works hard to give each their own particular look, though I didn’t realise that Emily’s Dad is J. Jonah Jameson!Â At times the art works with the emotions on show;Â it is after all the “happiest day” of someone’s life.Â Other times, the need to create that big moment distracts the eye due to poor perspectives; this is a flaw that often beleaguers indie artists, you do not need to show the whole body of a character.Â Still, that aside, the pacing works well with Guidry catching some nice little moments of the day that adds to the humourÂ of the situation. Liz Kramer delivers a color scheme that is understated, but like the script, is well observed and is consistent throughout.Â Letterer Ariana Maher rounds off the creative team by keeping things simple in order to not over populate the panels.

With the strength of Spencer and Locke being the comparison to Calvin and Hobbes, its exciting to see Pepose take on a more original idea and make it work.Â This first issue is chock full of characters, love interests and circumstances that elevate’s emotions, be they doubt, confidence, certainty and love, perhaps not strictly in that order.Â As mentioned, the level of observations shown throughout this first issue are excellent and they do lead me to ask, what sort of weddings does David Pepose get invited too?

Writing -Â 5 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by; David Pepose
Art by; Gavin Guidry
Colors by: Liz Kramer
Letters by; Ariana Maher
Published by; Action Lab Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network