Dead Body Road has a real nice feel to it. This issue has a mix of nostalgic to the thirties and forties with nostalgic to the seventies. There’s one scene straight out of Mad Max, even though Road is apparently set in the modern day.
The story is simple–there’s one confusing character as Justin Jordan sets up a subplot–but otherwise it’s simple. Jordan’s dialogue is weak at times, but it eventually either gets better or it doesn’t matter because the car chase is just an awesome sequence.
Matteo Scalera’s art doesn’t leave any room for humor in Road but he doesn’t play up the downbeat nature either. It feels like a tough action story, but one with room to noir elements along. The issue doesn’t even have a well-paced finish, just a final couple panels, but Jordan and Scalera are able to the issue coast along nicely.
CREDITS
Writer, Justin Jordan; artist, Matteo Scalera; colorist, Moreno Dinisio; letterer, Pat Brosseau; editor, Sean Mackiewicz; publisher, Image Comics.
I can’t think of much worse than Rick Remender’s narration in Black Science. The story–a rogue scientist who gets into trouble because of his anarchist views (except in very sci-fi situations)–ought to be interesting enough to make the narration a non-issue. Especially with Matteo Scalera’s awesome art.