REVIEW: PROFANE #1
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CREATIVE TEAM:
(W) Peter Milligan (A) Raul Fernandez (C) Giada Marchisio (L) Jeff Eckleberry (CA) Javier Rodriguez
SOLICITATION:
Solving murders in Los Angeles is the daily bread of private detective Will Profane, but something is strange about his latest case.
When every clue points toward a famous detective novelist at the center of this mystery, Will’s world will transform into something truly unreal.
Discover a new mind-bending thriller from legendary writer Peter Milligan (Hellblazer, X-Statix, Shade, The Changing Man) and veteran artist Raül Fernandez (Detective Comics, Justice League Dark) about the precariously thin line between reality and fiction-perfect for fans of BANG! and Newburn.
FIRST THOUGHT:
Opening up this issue I was prepared for a crime noir experience, and got just that, but things started to turn on their head as the issue reached the end and the cliffhanger has me ready for the next issue.
THE STORY:
The issue opens up with a very stereotypical gumshoe feel with our lead character, Will Profane. As the first few pages went by, Milligan’s started to create a very clunky and generic feel to the character and the world, and it provided some concern. This was an issue I was looking forward to reading and I was really beginning to worry, but at some point about the middle of the issue I felt things took a turn out of left field, but a turn that was interesting. While the narration from Profane was still a little clunky, it began to make a little more sense as if Profane was narrating to himself like he was in a crime novel. I took that as Milligan’s intent and started to enjoy more of the issue as it progressed to the end of the issue where things really took a twist and had me wanting to see what was going to happen in the next issue.
Jeff Eckleberry’s lettering of Milligan’s script in this issue has to carry some weight to it to establish the distinction of narration and dialogue, and Eckleberry does some great work on each page. Good lettering helps with the flow of the storytelling, and doesn’t jam up the reader trying to figure out what’s being said next and hurting that flow. Eckleberry dives into this issue and lays out the words with skill and care that not only helps move the scenes along, but sometimes doesn’t feel like the words are on the page, but part of the scene.
THE ART:
The linework in this issue from Raul Fernandez is gorgeous. Fernandez’s style has a cartoony look to it, allowing for some mildly exaggerated facial expressions, but keeping the realism needed for the rest of the character designs and world surrounding them. There are a few scenes where there are 5-6 different characters on the page and all of them have very unique designs that would help the reader pick them out later on in the issue if needed. Fernandez’s linework provides lots of opportunities for colorist, Giada Marchisio, to come in and flesh out the world. There are a number of panels and groups of panels where Marchisio picks a color to set the tone or the environment without being overdone. Fernandez and Marchisio do make a very nice team on this issue.
CLOSING THOUGHTS:
Getting a few pages into this book I was a little worried, but I should have trusted in Milligan’s process and waited until I saw the bigger picture. PROFANE #1 is a good first issue that sets up the characters, the world, and the mystery all in one issue. I’m on board for the next issue and really think you should give it a read.
