Comic Book Addicts

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Howard Chaykin

This is a book that I wasn’t really looking forward to read, it was probably in the middle of my stack, the top of the stack containing the books I want to read the most and going down in preference from there. I had never read anything by the writer, Jason Aaron, and wasn’t really sure what to expect from him and I had never been a fan of Howard Chaykin’s artwork. As soon as I began reading the book, however, I thought the art looked good and really suited the book. It is kind of gritty with a realistic leaning. Throughout the book the art is very consistent which is something that I am always glad to see, as I hate to see good detailed art on one page then turn to another and it almost seems like someone else drew the next one.

Now onto the story, this was a book that, for the first time ever, I was truly sad to see the last page. Usually you read a book and it ends in a cliffhanger or in some way to make you look forward to the next issue and, in that way, you don’t want the story to end. This book to me was different in that, like a great novel, I was generally disappointed for it to end. It was that good. It is a one shot story that comes between the last story arc that Jeff Loeb finished and the next one that a new artist will be starting, so this is a great issue for people to jump in on this title. The only place you see Wolverine in his costume is on the cover and you don’t see him very often throughout the story, as the storyline really concentrates on an anonymous character. Considering this, you would think that it would be on the boring side, but you really get sucked in and want to know who this guy is and where this place is that he works and what all the secrecy is all about. The writer also communicates very well the feeling of suspense towards the end of the book, in that you really aren’t sure what’s going to happen or how things are going to work out for the main character and the title character.

Jason Aaron is a fairly new writer on the scene of comics but has had some critical acclaim for his ongoing book Scalped and the limited series The Other Side both published by Vertigo Comics. I really think a book like this is perfect for people that want to get into comics, but don’t know where to begin. It is contained, for the most part, in this one issue and it is done in a mainstream title for a mainstream company. For people who read comics regularly, like myself, it makes me want to go right out and buy the Scalped trade. So I recommend this book to anyone who is new to comics and to anyone who likes a good story. Go pick it up now if you haven’t already.