CREDIT: Dynamite
Rating: 4.5/5 – Exciting Police Procedural With a Great Lead Character
by ComicSpectrum EiC Bob Bretall
I’m a big fan of comic book characters. And not just the ones wearing costumes. I like CHARACTERS. Ones that feel real to me because they are fleshed out and given a personality by the writers. The visual personality imparted by the artist is just as important, for me it needs to be in synch with the writing. Thee personality created by the writing and the art make the characters come to life for me and when a creative team can make this happen, it is the single most important factor in getting me to return for the next issue.
Control is a police procedural set in Washington, DC. In addition to the crime itself, as one might expect, the United States political machine is going to be playing a key role in the story. This is assured by the surprising final page that made me chuckle and gives the reader a solid idea that politics will be involved in the story as it moves forward.
Leading the investigation is Detective-Sergeant Kate Burnham, who I grew to love over the course of the 22 pages. She doesn’t suffer fools lightly, and some of the responses she gives to her Captain while she is being interviewed about the inciting incident at the beginning of the issue were worth the price of admission by themselves. Writers Andy Diggle and Angela Cruickshank have a great ear for dialogue; it is smart, witty and keeps things moving along while also imparting essential information to the reader as part of the story flow. Andrea Mutti’s art is a great match for the story, using thin lines to delineate faces and other details where needed, but using blacks to good effect for some of the darker scenes.
Control #1 is a perfect setup for the series. We get the inciting action to put things in motion, great introductions of key characters, a nice set of breadcrumbs setting up the trail to follow, and an ending with some punch that’s definitely got me hooked to come back for more next issue. I only pre-ordered issue #1, but this series now has a home on my pull list, I’m in for the 6 issue series. On the strength of this debut alone, I’m in for an ongoing set of stories with Kate Burnham, if the creative team brings her back for more.
Reviewed by: Bob Bretall
(bob@comicspectrum.com)
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