SMOKE #1

Smoke #1 – Good Boys Grow Up To Be Soldiers
Written by Alex de Campi
Art by Igor Kordey
Colors by Len O’Grady
IDW Publishing
48 pages
$7.49
Preview pages

In this too-normal future (flying cars still not present sadly) we get to know our main character, an albino by the name of Rupert Cain. Cain is a hired killer, but there’s more to him than that, as the unfolding story shows. He has a shady past, and that past has a girl and a Colonel in it. Now, his present mission is to find out why there isn’t a Colonel anymore, having been killed in what appears to be an attempted robbery. And that girl is back in his life too. And she’s mad at him.

You could say Cain’s life is not an easy one, but if it were, what kind of interesting leading man would he be?

But don’t think the story revolves only around Cain. Far from it.

De Campi’s future is one of corrupt politicians and less than legal economic dealings. It’s a world where things are sometimes settled not in boardrooms, but with poison delivered while you’re in the toilet reading the morning paper. The press gets privileges based on how pretty the reporter is, and weird people are put away in a part of London called “The Walled City”.

What do you mean it’s all a metaphor for our society these days?
Oh, ok, maybe just a bit…

This is a book that treads between the fun and the darkness, and it does it splendidly.
It’s never too dark or too light, the writer mixes both genres with taste, and the book never swerves entirely to one side. The back-cover says it’s a “violent, blackly comic thriller”, and I’ll be damned if this description doesn’t fit like a glove!

You want more?

What about a terrorist organization that fights for full body-liposuctions and plastic surgery?
What about the brilliant future of Prince William as King of England?
What about an insane car chase on London’s traffic, coupled with the sad demise of many, many chocolate bars?

You still want more?
Well, then I guess you’ll just have to read it.

Oh, fine, I’ll give you another reason:
Igor Kordey.

I’m sure you’ve heard of him; he’s an European artist who did work for Marvel some years ago. Cable, Soldier X, Xtreme X-Men and a couple of fill-ins on New X-Men, and these in particular branded him in the eyes of many as a “not that good“ artist. I’m glad to say that this book is solid proof that Kordey is one top storyteller. What a difference having more than 5 days to finish a book can make, eh?

The art is solid and beautiful, with a really European look to it. It’s detailed without being insanely so, and sets the mood pretty fast. The facial expressions are realistic to the point you can tell what the character is thinking just by looking at the squint on his eyes, and honestly that’s one of the best compliments I can give to an artist. In fact, all of the art in this book unfolds as a slap in the face of those who deemed Kordey as a bad artist.

Touché, Mr. Kordey.

The colors are perfect and fit the tone in the book, light and dark at the same time, at exactly the right place and exactly the right time. Again, the impression I get is that it looks more like a European work. With any luck, some European publisher will get the rights to Smoke and share it with the bigger Euro-market, as it fully deserves.

So, to sum it up:
- This book is great
- The writing is great
- The art is great
- Why are you still reading this and not on your way to the store to pick it up?

PS: I know, the price is a little steep, but being an IDW book means you get great production values, and believe me when I say this book gives you bang for your buck.

PPS: Ok, one final reason for you to pick it up:
The cover (seen here without any lettering) looks amazing.
It’s based on this work by Banksy, a very popular English graffiti artist.

Now, run, go on, go and get Smoke.
You can thank me later.

BrunoBruno Batista, 25 years old, lives near Lisbon, in Portugal, on the sunny west coast of Europe. He works in a manga shop and gives a hand on the comics one, so sometimes he knows what he’s talking about