ADVANCE REVIEW: Carver: A Paris Story #1

A homage to the classic Corto Maltese, Chris Hunt’s first issue of Carver, from Z2 Comics, screams mood, noir combined with an easy going style. This first issue starts slap bang in the middle of that old villain downfall, the monologue.  This time however, Stecker’s little rant serves to set the table for the introduction of both the yin and the yang, the different sides of the same coin that is the relationship between Stecker and Carver, before seeing the aforementioned Carver in action.

Despite Hunt’s reliance on comic book tropes, there is enough freshness in the dialogue to make the book a fun read.  Initially Stecker may come across like a cross between The Joker with a The Rose look, but the dialogue bellies an intelligence, a recognition of the choices made that can determine whether you are considered good or evil.  The strength of the writing continues with Carver, who plays his cards close to his chest.  Yes, the scenes with the call girl may seem somewhat clichéd, but its all part of the overall character centric piece that Hunt is building.

The art is quite a simple style which helps the reader get into the book quickly, which is just as well with the action coming thick and fast.  Hunt’s work is consistent through the both the action and the quieter panels.  The panel layout follows the easy style with very structured pages, which works well especially as the book is trying to tell a structured story in a structured way.  The book is black and white, which helps the noir-esque  mood and still allows for a great deal of detail to be shown.

First issues can be a tricky, especially creator owned books, that do not have the history of mainstream characters or their fan base.  Hunt gets around this with characters that seem familiar on first reading.  It’s only on the second read through, that you discover that the book is a lot cleverer than it appears on first glance and despite the obviousness of some of the elements in the book, Hunt’s storytelling skills has me intrigued.

For more information about Chris Hunt and Carver, along with some art from issue 1, check out the interview section at the top of the screen or click here.

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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

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