SuperSearnold - Comic Book Reviews

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Welcome to my comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in. Today is Thursday, October 16th, 2008.

Today’s Issue:
Echo #1 - #6, written and drawn by Terry Moore (Strangers In Paradise, Runaways). This is a current series being published in black and white by Abstract Studio (Terry’s own personal publishing company). They’re going for $3.50 each - and let me go ahead and say: well worth it.

Premise:
A nuclear research facility, HeNRI, has created the “Beta Suit” – a nuclear weapon that a person can wear. But something goes wrong, and Julie Martin accidentally winds up with the suit. Thing is, Julie Martin has NO F*@%^&$#ing clue what this thing is or why she can’t get it off her chest. And now the army’s after her.

Awesome Parts:
Simply put – this is the best comic book I’ve ever read. Now, I haven’t stopped to think seriously about whether or not it will stand the test of time the way Watchmen and Dark Knight have. But I never recall enjoying reading a comic book as much as I have enjoyed Echo. This is the type of book that makes me feel like an incompetent writer who will never be able to write a decent story. Let’s look at what all Terry did right.
1. Character character character. EVERY character is unique and interesting. We get to know these people and they truly feel like real people. Julie’s reaction to this Beta Suit is what we were supposed to get in the NBC show Heroes – what does a REAL person do when confronted with this strange power? Julie goes to the emergency room to try and get medical help. She’s truly confused as one might imagine one would be in this situation. We even get some great behind-the-scenes looks into the lives of the antagonists (I won’t call them villains because it isn’t that cut-and-dry.) So we understand them as real people, too – making the story that much more interesting.
2. Truly human moments. Julie is going through a divorce and there are some corresponding emotional moments that speak to the heart. Julie owns a dog and there are some great human moments surrounding their relationship. There are other moments, too, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Terry did the incredible and made me actually feel these emotions. That’s how good of a writer he is.
3. Mystery. First we have the mystery of what is this thing that has attached itself to Julie? Then, as we begin to understand that, we begin to question why the military destroyed the first Beat Suit? As we learn more about Julie, there arises a mystery about what happened to her family. They’re subtle, but powerful. And they made me hunger to read more.
4. On a semi-related note - Suspense. You never know what’s going to happen next. But you always want to find out. It’s not the type of over-the-top suspense like “the world is jeopardy, how are we going to save it” where we know that the heroes eventually WILL save the world. This is genuine “I have no clue what will happen next” suspense. And along those same lines comes a genuinely creative and original story.
5. Action. Simple enough - but every good comic book needs some. There’s a super secret military bomb out there and the military will do whatever it takes to get it back. There’s plenty of great action in Echo.
6. Themes. Each issue starts with a quote from a physicist who helped create the atom bomb (so far we’ve gotten 5 quotes from Einstein and 1 from Oppenhemier.) These quotes help set the thematic stage for the book - how we as humans interact with the world around us and whether or not we are ready for the type of power the atom bomb allows us to control. Terry does a great job of exploring this issue without being preachy at all.
7. Subtlety. This comes up again and again. Terry never says, “look at this theme” and none of the characters are so obvious as to say “we were so wrong to harvest the power of the bomb.” It’s much more subtle, so that we never get ripped out of the story. We don’t see what type of character Julie is because someone says “boy – you sure are like this.” We get to SEE her acting and reacting, and we learn who she is this way. Okay, there is a little bit of “she is like this” because they have a professional profiler (Ivy) trying to locate Julie. But those lines are so natural and so well written they don’t take you out of the story at all. And the way the lines are said are as much a reveal about Ivy’s character as they are about Julie’s. This is the perfect example of what I have been saying all along – the best stories are SHOWN, not told.

Less-Than-Awesome Parts:
…
…
…
I’m looking. I’m looking. I’m sure I can find something.
I have no idea why the series is called Echo. And sometimes the word balloons look funny. Sometimes they’re all boxy for reasons that escape me. Really, that’s the only critical thing I can find. I LOVED this comic book.

My Recommendation:
Please read Echo. The website is www.StrangersInParadise.com - and all 6 issues can be ordered there. As well as the trade. I can’t think of a single type of person who wouldn’t enjoy this story. You need to read this comic book. Go – now – find a way to get your hands on Echo.

Why are you still reading this? Seriously – you’ve GOT to go read Echo.
-Searnold

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