Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
The Names #1 of 8
Vertigo Comics (DC)
Milligan, Fernandez & Peter
The Names reads like a murder mystery. Well, we know the main character is forced to kill himself but his wife doesn’t and she is set out to find out why he committed suicide. The comic has a lot of moving parts to it and that is one of the better qualities in the book. This is a good start to what looks like a promising series.
The comic book seems to be about murder and money but that’s just on the surface. Some of the pages and panels definitely hint at something a lot more intriguing and that is a nice way to tease where this series is going. If my hunch is correct than this book is about to get fairly crazy and quickly. I found this to be a good quality while reading the book.
The pace to the book is also a good trait while reading this. We get the suicide in the initial pages and then we immediately get a nosey wife entering the picture. Some of the panels and pages might not add up in this issue but I think these introductory snippets will help later in keeping the pace up. There’s even some action in the book, which helps as well.
The artwork is another positive to the comic book. The book is not the house style for Vertigo. It seems to follow the American Vampire look but take on brighter coloring to the pencils that you don’t usually see in a Vertigo comic. I liked that the book had a lively feel to it and some of the characters had exaggerated looking facial characteristics.
There are a couple of items to pick on. For one thing it strikes me as odd that the man in question would entrust his lawyer and not simply trust his wife with some key information. I also found the entire scene involving the stepson to be strange to the point of slowing the book to a sketching halt. Again, these may pay off later but in this single issue then come across as problems with how the book reads.
The final problem is the scene with the stolen phone. Why the individual fesses up to swiping the phone so quickly is completely lost on me.
The Names is a good comic. It’s not a great one and it isn’t one that feels too original but the issue is a good read. This is a series to keep your eye on. Whether you like single issues or collected editions from Vertigo I believe this series will be one you will want to own before it’s all said and done.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
