The first issue of Curb Stomp had a lot of promise, the second issue implied maybe it didn’t… the third shows Ferrier and Neogi are going to do even better than that initial promise. It’s an outstanding comic book with a masterful control of the plotting. And some of Neogi’s best art–there are a lot of rituals in this issue (as the gangs negotiate) and Neogi has a visual theme for each different kind of ritual. It’s awesome.

Ferrier’s script is almost in real time but lots of things happen. It’s not a talking heads comic, it’s an action comic, just one with occasional talking. Each conversation is a confrontation, which works entirely differently. It’s not about exposition or explanation, it’s about action.

Not to say there isn’t general action–whether it’s suspense or just all out fight scenes–but Ferrier and Neogi do a great job maintaining tone.

CREDITS

Writer, Ryan Ferrier; artist, Devaki Neogi; colorist, Jeremy Lawson; letterer, Colin Bell; editors, Jasmine Amiri and Eric Harburn; publisher, Boom! Studios.

The second half of the issue works out a lot better than the first. It’s strange but the first half feels like a different comic; it’s a little too soon for writer Ferrier to have defined the Curb Stomp reading experience but it’s also not. It’s a limited series. Readers want to feel a connection to the previous issue.

This issue has Ferrier doing a lot of political intrigue. It’s all excruciatingly boring. The comic does not seem to have any hook this issue, which isn’t good for Ferrier. The ending sort of delivers on one promise from the issue, but that promise was just a red herring.

And Ferrier’s off with the dialogue this time around too. The previous issue had an urgency around the usually somewhat inane document.

Artist Neogi runs hot and cold. Decent composition can’t outweigh the static faces on the characters.

It needs more oomph.

CREDITS

Writer, Ryan Ferrier; artist, Devaki Neogi; colorist, Jeremy Lawson; letterer, Colin Bell; editors, Jasmine Amiri and Eric Harburn; publisher, Boom! Studios.

Curb Stomp, quite frankly, plays like a Troma remake of Repo Man. It’s post-apocalyptic, but not in a fantastical way, with its characters just trying to get by in a difficult world. The leads are the five or six members of the gang The Fevers. They’re punk rock and all women, as opposed to their rival gangs, who are coed and don’t have any major unified fashion statements going on.

Writer Ryan Ferrier worries more about cool characters than good dialogue and it works. His dialogue’s fine, affected, not realistic. He doesn’t plot out long scenes. He keeps it moving. A lot happens in the first issue, maybe two major plot points, which is nice to see in an indie limited series.

Devaki Neogi’s art reminds a little of Love and Rockets (in a good way) and the issue is a rather substantial success. Curb Stomp gets started strong.

CREDITS

Writer, Ryan Ferrier; artist, Devaki Neogi; colorist, Neil Lalonde; letterer, Colin Bell; editors, Jasmine Amiri and Eric Harburn; publisher, Boom! Studios.