Repo #1
Writer: Rick Spears
Artist: Rob G
Publisher: Image
Price: $3.50
Release Date: June
Clones, repo men, extreme violence, spooky faceless business men who live on the moon. If this random list of components sounds appealing then Repo is for you. If it doesn’t sound appealing then let me persuade you that Repo is for you anyway.
Repo is a sci-fi comic, set in a Blade Runner like future city called the Sprawl. It follows the adventures of two Repo men KD, the old hand, and Emil, his wet behind the ears new partner, as they try to recover the heart of a stolen clone. This first issue is mostly setup, introducing the main players, the setting, and the theft of the clone. The writing, from Spears, is witty fast-paced very slick. The two main characters are immediately likeable and individual, while the supporting cast is just fantastic. From their jaded boss, through the shady moon based client to their fellow repo men the lethal Chinese brothers and Suicide Girl; this is one cast that is not short of originality. The pacing of this issue is spot on, it’s a self-contained episode that leaves you satisfied, but eager for the next, and importantly, for a first issue, by the end the reader is left with a good sense of who the characters are and what they are about.
All of this quality storytelling would be absolutely impossible without Rob G’s art. From the character design, through the colouring, to the panel layout, everything here just works beautifully, and works in total synergy with the writing. You can tell Spears and Rob were on the same page here, and enjoying working together. They’ve created a well developed universe, and they’re telling a funny, entertaining story within it. Also there are exploding heads. Nuff said.
Having recently finished a PhD in Immunology Ross is currently working for a UK biotech company. He lives in Cambridge where he reads comics, spends too much money on music and attempts to learn Portuguese. He owns at least 7 lightsabers, yet still manages to have a very attractive girlfriend who he misses very much, thus proving anything really is possible.