David Lapham takes a really interesting approach with this first Juice Squeezers one-shot. He doesn't try to do too much. He opens the comic with new Juice Squeezer, Lizzy Beedle. She's the only girl on the team of high school students who kill all those giant bugs the world doesn't know about. He changes points of view quite a bit, but it's always Lizzy who's at the center of the character stuff.
Then there's the way the kids go out and hunt the bugs. It's simultaneously scary and safe, with Lapham skipping from character to character. He doesn't go too far establishing any of the other characters, usually just giving them distinct names and personalities, but not entire scenes to themselves. He doesn't want to lose the focus.
The conclusion nicely ties up this introduction issue while keeping things open.
Great art too. The movement is outstanding, the bugs creepy.
A
CREDITS
Squish; writer and artist, David Lapham; colorist, Lee Loughridge; letterer, Nate Piekos; editor, Jim Gibbons; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.
So how does Lapham end the first Juice Squeezers series? Well, but with too much of an eye on the future. He opens up two new story lines in this issue–one out of the blue–and confirms another one will continue.
Lapham sets up a perfectly good–by perfectly good, I mean predictable–cliffhanger and doesn’t use it. He doesn’t even use it when he’s building up to the cliffhanger. Instead, he goes with a logical choice. It’s not the most dramatic he could, it’s just the right one to do.
Oh, look, Lapham includes a cast list with pictures for Juice Squeezers. What an idea, actually giving your readers a reference when you have a lot of characters.
Cute David Lapham. Who knew.