A friend of mine recommended Hotwire to me and, while I trust his opinion, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. It’s a very stylized, painted-like (is there a term for it yet, Photoshop-painted maybe) comic and he doesn’t like photoshopping or painted comics. But Hotwire‘s not really that genre at all–if it were black and white, it’d look–as I imagine in an idealized sense–like a Marvel magazine from the 1970s. Pugh’s artwork is this luscious, emotional stuff, not at all static, not at all “painted comic” or “photoshopped comic.”
Besides the art, Pugh’s writing is strong. He sets Hotwire up as Blade Runner with ghosts (down to the Blade Runner font, but I imagine that decision wasn’t his to make) and it really does work. It’s never really “spooky,” but it’s off-putting and not comfy.
I can’t wait for more.
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