Does anyone remember that series Middleman? It had a female, Hispanic lead cop or something. I wonder if Oliver read it because he sure makes a big deal about how he’s got a female, Hispanic lead cop in this series now.

Oliver and Rodriguez soft boot FBP this issue, mostly in the last few pages. The whole world has changed in the days or weeks since the last issue, not just female Hispanic cops (I wonder if they have such beings in the real world or just in Oliver’s comic books), but also physics insurance and flashbacks.

Maybe if Rodriguez’s art was better, it might be worth sticking around to see what they do with FBP, but the art’s weak. It’s hurried and the colorist is doing a whole lot of shading work.

There are probably other big problems with the issue, but FBP’s not worth talking about anymore.

CREDITS

Things That Have Been; writer, Simon Oliver; artist, Robbi Rodriguez; colorist, Rico Renzi; letterer, Jared K. Fletcher; editors, Sara Miller and Mark Doyle; publisher, Vertigo.

So, if one classifies the first issue as a pilot issue and then two through four as the first story arc, I suppose this issue is all right.

It’s also kind of not, because Oliver wraps up his story arc really quick to reset the comic. He has a chance with the next issue to start over, erasing–but not really–all memory of when the book was called Collider and that word was used a lot in the first issue.

By resetting the ground situation–the continuing reader presumably somewhat familiar with the rules, the cast, the backstory–Oliver gets to conduct the ultimate cop out. He’s no longer responsible for FBP’s problems. The reset button takes care of them.

It’s desperate.

It’s also okay enough. Rodriguez gets to draw the real world, which is a nice change from the lame alternate reality.

I’ll get it a chance.

CREDITS

The Paradigm Shift, Part Four; writer, Simon Oliver; artist, Robbi Rodriguez; colorist, Rico Renzi; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Sara Miller and Mark Doyle; publisher, Vertigo.

You know, this “first” issue of FBP feels like the mediocre second episode of a TV series after an awesome pilot episode–the title change (from Collider is due to DC apparently not doing any legal research… they’re too busy suing Siegel and Shuster’s families for damages). The comic’s okay, it’s just nothing special.

The pacing is also way off. He wastes about half the issue on exposition, then gets his two main characters into this incredibly interesting parallel universe bubble and… then the issue stops. Given how he wastes the early pages, he could have done a lot more.

But it’s not just Oliver. Rodriguez seems to be doing a lot less work too. There are a lot of white space backgrounds–to focus on the foreground figures, I’m sure one could argue, but it just feels really lazy. And a second issue isn’t the place to get lazy.

CREDITS

The Paradigm Shift, Part Two; writer, Simon Oliver; artist, Robbi Rodriguez; colorist, Rico Renzi; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Sara Miller and Mark Doyle; publisher, Vertigo.

I’m really impressed. I’d never heard of Simon Oliver or Robbie Rodriguez until I looked back to the title page after finishing this first issue of Collider.

They do good work.

The series takes place in a universe where the laws of physics have suffered some kind of damage. The lead is a hotshot agent who fixes the resulting tears. This issue shows a disturbance where an area loses gravity.

So there are these funny moments with people or objects floating, but then the action crisis when the agents are trying to fix it.

Rodriguez handles both beautifully. There’s a real energy with his panels, his transitions between them are fantastic.

Oliver writes excellent dialogue–he’s already nicely established the lead’s friendship with another agent. He’s consistently unpredictable… Until the last two pages, when he has to set up his subplot and then put in a cliffhanger.

Still, it’s great.

CREDITS

The Paradigm Shift, Part One; writer, Simon Oliver; penciller, Robbi Rodriguez; colorist, Rcio Renzi; letterer, Steve Wands; editors, Sara Miller and Mark Doyle; publisher, Vertigo.