Review: Gutter Magic
One of the best things about going to New York Comic Con was getting to meet up with fellow creators, and one such person I met was Rich Douek. We got to talk about comics, writing and other stuff, and he shared with me a copy of his debut comic, Gutter Magic. The comic book I received was in fact a preview of the upcoming series proper, giving us a trio of brief shorts to introduce us to this magic-dominated alternate world that Douek has created.
Of course, the problem with little teaser comics like this is that, the better they are, the more frustrating a reading experience they become. While a poor one can be easily discarded, one that shows as much promise like this leaves us, as a reader, keen to read more and agrivated about only being given a brief taste. I can’t help but feel like the story recounted in prose on the inside front cover of the book – about how the history of this world deviates from our own, and the role magic played in winning World War 2 and shifting the course of society in the decades that followed – may have made for a compelling introductory comic in its own right, and it’s almost a waste glossing over it in three paragraphs.
As for what we do get, the first story of the three, called Gutter Magic , feels like the most compelling, and the most relevant. It lays out some of Douek’s mythology, and makes it tangible by approaching it through the perspective of Cinder Byrnes, a man without natural magical talent who has been fighting tooth and nail to nevertheless become the world’s greatest sorceror. The gutter magic of the title refers to the sleight of hand and card tricks that lesser magicians rely on to get by, while the magical elite can use more grandiose wizard spells. It’s a really intriguing premise for a character and a story, with udnertones of class division that could give the book added edge in our current economic climate. Again, I could have read a whole issue just introducing us to Cinder and his daily struggles.
But instead, the remaining two thirds of the book are taken up by another pair of shorts – Nice Work and Havoc’s Hand – which instead shed light on characters who I imagine will make up the supporting cast of the series itself. These are certainly interesting enough, but they feel more peripheral than the opening Cinder story, and when you’re working to grab a reader’s attention with your comic, you’re making it harder for yourself asking them to start from scratch twice over the course of the comic. I’d have preferred to see the first story expanded into one longer tale, or even had three shorts each revolving around Cinder.
On the plus side, Douek is clearly a talented writer. His dialogue flows quickly and naturally, with the necessary world-building exposition delivered to us unobtrusively. And though we only get glimpses of it, it’s clear that Douek has crafted a deep, immersive mythology here, primed for further exploration. I for one would certainly be keen to see where he’s going with these story threads.
Each of the three shorts is handled by a different artist. The first story is drawn by the talented Jason Baroody. I’m a real fan of Baroody’s talent for camera placement in a panel, knowing just the angle to get the most dramatic image. His faces occasionally come across as a bit staid, but his bodies are well proportioned, and his pages look slick and dramatic. The understated colors of Paul Little are a nice match for Baroody’s work.
J.C. Grande, whose work I’ve commented on a few times in my reviews, handles the art on the second story, which is possibly the best-looking of the three. The loose, almost cartoony style gives the pages a real sense of energy and excitement, and Little’s precise coloring ensures there are no issues with clarity that have occasionally popped up in Grande’s other work.
I’d say the work of Craig S. Yeung on the third short is the least successful of the three. I can understand where he was going, with a rough, muddy aesthetic to compliment the more horror-tinged vibe of this particular tale. But the result is that some of the storytelling is hard to follow. Furthermore, some of the facial expressions and body shapes feel awkward and unnatural, which took me out of the reading experience. The coloring of Scott Lemien is pretty good, however, with a pastel-like appearance that’s a match for the moody artwork.
There are a couple of nitpicks here and there, but overall this is a very solid debut for Rich Douek. If the goal of this collection of tales was to generate interest in an upcoming Gutter Magic series, then I would say this comic was most definitely a success. Hopefully, if I meet Rich in New York next year, he’ll have some more chapters to share.
***
Writer: Rich Douek
Artists: Jason Baroody, J.C. Grande, Craig S. Yeung
Colorists: Paul Little, Scott Lemen
Letterer: Rich Douek
Publisher: Six Gun Comics
Price: 99c
Synopsis: It’s sword, sorcery and sixguns in these three interconnected tales of an alternate history where a magic-fueled WWII drove the world to the brink of apocalypse. Now, years later, the city of Meridian has been built on the ruins of old New York. A conclave of powerful wizards rules the city, while men, elves, goblins and all manner of creatures struggle to get by on it’s uncaring streets.
Gutter Magic is available to buy from DriveThruComics.
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Category: Comics, The Creator-Owned Zone
I also picked up Gutter Magic, and I agree on the frustration of having to wait to see more! Personally, I enjoyed the art of the first chapter the most, but like you said, overall, this all looks very promising.
Thanks for the review and checking out the book! If you’d like to see the pencils to get a bit of behind the scenes look, you can check out the pages at http://csyeung1.blogspot.com/2011/11/havoks-hand.html