As far as first issues go you cannot ask
for much more than the all star team of Kirkman, McFarlane, Ottley,
Capullo, FCO, and Starkings delivered in this issue. They did a great
job of introducing the characters on a surface level and portraying
Daniel as a priest with no moral compass and Kurt as a military killer
who has ethics and beliefs. The paradox of their personalities is going
to make for an interesting dynamic in the future.
The story was really well written and typical with Kirkman's style he
dropped a lot of little nuggets along the way that can develop into
bigger story lines. We learn that Amanda, Kurt's widow, and Daniel must
have had some sort of relationship in the past and it didn't end well.
How will the dynamic work with two men, one living and one dead, having
feelings for the same woman. We have the mysterious lady who orders
Kurt's death and the contents of the briefcase from the dead scientist.
It is also curious what sort of experiments he was doing. I also found
it interesting that the "Haunt logo" was on the wall of the cell of the
test subjects. Does the doctor's work have something to do with the
origin of Haunt?
The art was hit and miss throughout the issue. I felt there were some
pages that were more heavily inked and clunkier than others. Ryan
Ottley (Wya) has some of the most fluid pencil lines going today and I
did not get that feel throughout the first issue. I believe some of
that could come from the inking and some of it could come from Wya
working over Capullo's layouts. It felt a little forced at times and
uneven in places. FCO delivers fabulous colors and this guy continues
to get better and better.
I thought the overall set-up was solid and the foundation has been laid
to develop a lot of story moving forward. I hope to see the art improve
because there is too much talent on this book not to be exceptional. I
am sure there is going to be a lot of criticism for this book because
of McFarlane being such a polarizing figure in the business. There are
going to be people who hate this book and never read a page and people
who love it before they open the cover. For those that read it and give
the book an honest overview I think they are going to find an enjoyable
story and a pretty darn good comic book.
I give the book and 8 out of 10 with lots of upside.
Story: 5 - Excellent
Art: 4 - Very Good
