The Ride features a strong female lead in the shape of Samantha Vega, ex cop, ex convict and now bouncer at a dance (not a strip) bar. It’s here that all her carefully laid plans of keeping a low profile start fall asunder. I guess that’s what can happen when you start to care about people; you then have things to lose. Case in point; a dancer commits suicide and her deaf little girl has gone missing. So starts a violent game of cat and mouse, in which Vega is the hunted; but who is the hunter?
The main story, and all the little ancillary parts in between are written by Doug Wagner, who I first came across in the book Plastic. As with that book, The Ride does have some surreal moments that maybe, visually and circumstantially, touch on the seedier side of sex, gender, though this is not over sexualised or glamourised. In fact, by setting the story within this world, Wagner is showing the reader two important points. Firstly, it shows just how far Vega has fallen to only be able to survive in this “underbelly” of society, and secondly, proves that appearances can be deceiving, with this latter element serving Vega well throughout the story. There is also a darkness within the book. Whether you focus on the main story or the seques into the characters past by a variety of guest artists, that darkness is always there, lurking, always ready and able to overtake the characters life. As you would expect, there are a number of tropes in play; part gumshoe detective, part Pulp Fiction, Wagner does extremely well in weaving the influences into a complete and satisfying whole.
The art for the main story is provided by Daniel Hillyard whose style is economical, in a good way. Hillyard is aware that despite the many action pieces withing the story, this is a character piece. Initially this is focused on Vega and Nancy, with the other characters kind of fading into the back ground. As the story progresses, so does Hillyard as he works hard to bring each character into the action, into focus even, granting them more detail. It is a great way to visually show the character growing importance to Vega. The panel structure is well laid out; medium sized panels do a lot of the work, though, at least early on, that can show a lack of background. The colors are provided by Laura Martin for issues 1 through 3 and Charlie Kirchoff for issues 4 through 6 There is not much to choose between the pair to be honest. If I was being super critical, I would say I prefer the darkness in Martin’s colors, though this could be down to environments and requirements of the story. Letter are provided, throughout the entire book, by Ed Dukshire. The font used for the main story feels a little too nice for the events shown; Dukeshire flexes his creative muscles utilising a variety of styles on the chapters in between.
Regarding the chapters in between, each carries their own style in which to depict the origins of the respective character. For me, I enjoyed the art of Adam Hughes in Sparkles, which features an almost Power Girl cameo, as Wagner gets to play bondage cheesecake. Story wise, Foo’s part probably has the most powerful punch, though all of them show how the past has impacted the present of this eclectic bunch of characters.
For those that debate the idea of floppies over trades; this book works best as a trade. Looking back, as a single issue, unless your were invested in the original series, you may well have let this fall through the cracks in your wallet. As a trade, you get to see the whole story and it’s impacts of Vega’s journey as she looks to find a place in her new world.
Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars
Overall – 4 Stars
Written by; Doug Wagner
Art by; Daniel Hillyard; Adam Hughes, Chris Brunner,
Cully Hamner, Tomm Coker and Doug Dabs
Colors by; Laura Martin, Charles Kirchoff, Adam Hughes
Rico Renzi, Nayoung Kim, Doug Dabs
Letters by; Ed Dukeshire
Published by; Image Comics
Author Profile
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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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