CREDIT: Z2 Comics
Rating: 4/5 – Crime Drama with Political Undertones.
by ComicSpectrum EiC Bob Bretall.
A string of murders has ties to a terrorist and the FBI agents investigating it turn to a man who has deep ties into the terrorist organization for help. That’s the high concept (so far) of this crime drama written by Michael Moreci (who also does Roche Limit at Image).
At its core this is much more than just another crime drama. I’ve read stories that focus on the investigation and resolution of a series of seemingly related killings before. It’s the twist added to each of these that make them unique. The twist here is the potential linkage to a terrorist and the possibility that there is much more under the surface of this case than just the murders. Is there a deeper terrorism threat that these killings are just side-effects of? More interesting, as Moreci brings in the character Wilkins, the man in Federal Prison who has ties to the terrorist Sahir. The exploration of what causes someone to be swayed to a radically different political ideology is fascinating. I think (but cannot state with 100% certainty) that Wilkins’ indoctrination to the mindset of Sahir’s terrorist organization is the genesis of the series title. It seems to at least be an element of it, while perhaps the entire concept of people being indoctrinated into radical ideologies is really the underlying reason for the title.
Matt Battaglia’s art has a definite style to it that is very different from what readers of super-hero comics will be used to seeing. Battaglia is a former ‘political operative’ who has worked for a Washington DC Super PAC and this is his first full-length comics work. His representation of people is rough, but distinct and I think it effectively tells the story. Where he shines is in his page design. He really mixes it up on his panel composition and page layouts, and does not fall back onto lots of very simple grid layouts like I have seen a lot of new comics artists do. His illustration and design style is a good match for the story.
I really enjoyed Indoctrination and will be following the series to see where it goes. You can read more about this comics ans see pages of sample art on the Indoctrination comic website. Z2 Comics has a really diverse line of comics coming out. I bought 3 off the rack this week, in addition to Indoctrination I got the Sci-Fi comic ‘The Sweetness #1’ and the post-apocalytic comic about sentient dogs ‘Legend #2’. I’ll be looking at these in my next couple of reviews. Z2 Comics is a publisher to watch. If you have not checked out any of their titles, ask your comic shop about them. If you want a read that’s a bit out of the ordinary, they’re definitely worth checking out.
Reviewed by: Bob Bretall
(bob@comicspectrum.com)
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