Noir #1 Review
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Writer: Victor Gischler
Art: Andrea Mutti
Colors: Vladimir Popov
Letters: Rob Steen
Covers: Ardian Syaf
Review by Scott Keys
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, Dynamite has been putting out some great books involving some classic Pulp and Super-hero characters from days gone by. Noir is the next miniseries to take these classic characters and put them in an exciting story.
Noir #1 starts off with the robbery of the Moon Stone. Next, we see the Black Sparrow at Lamont Cranston’s home with a gun to his girlfriend’s head. She has a business proposition she’d like to discuss over dinner. Come to find out, Sparrow was the one to steal the Moon Stone, but then her “employers” stole it from her. Now she wants revenge, but she needs the Shadow’s help! Cranston uses his social status to get information on where Argus (Sparrow’s employer) was headed. The information leads them to Newport, Rhode Island, and the Old Stone Mill. Cranston meets with Professor Jenks who tells a story of the Templar Knights coming to the New World 100 years before Columbus, and that the Old Stone Mill was there as a message to future Templars that might follow. During their exchange, Jenks is murdered by a Akash who then steals a map from Jenks’ wall. Akash meets Argus at the Old Stone Mill to make a deal for the Moon Stone. Of course, Argus double crosses him. In come the Black Sparrow and the Shadow! After taking both Akash and Argus out, the Shadow turns his weapon to Sparrow. He doesn’t trust her either. But someone throws in a smoke bomb! Come to find out it was…Miss Fury?!?
The team of Gischler and Mutti bring a great noir story to life and set into motion something even larger! Gischler has a great writing style and takes the reader right back to that bygone era of the Shadow! And even if you aren’t familiar with the Black Sparrow, Gischler utilizes her history with the Shadow to fill in the reader and set up some tension (regular and sexual). And Mutti’s style is perfect for this tale. It looks modern, but also has that gritty noir style needed for this type of story. If you haven’t been keeping up with Dynamite’s pulp/golden age heroes, Noir #1 is a great place to jump on and get started!
Art: 4.5 / 5
Story: 4.5 / 5
Overall: 4.5 / 5
Scott Keys is a father, Butler University grad, pharmacist, and full-time comic nerd. You can follow his adventures around the spinner-rack and his Incoherent Comic Book Ramblings on:
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