Captain Stone 1

The world's first and only superhero has disappeared after undergoing a cataclysmic fall from grace in the eyes of the world. Middle-aged and unable to support his operations he had made a preposterous claim that the world was in danger, a notion derided by the media and the public at large. But what if the claim is true?

Outcast writer and infamous murderess Charlie Chance, AKA The Pet, finds herself searching for the one man who was able to bring her to justice- Captain Stone

Writer:(s)

Christina McCormack

Liam Sharp

Artist:

Liam Sharp

Publisher:

Madefire/ Titan Comics

Vertigo has a lot to answer for. Back in the last 80's and early 90's they came out of nowhere, Karen Berger almost single handedly shaping the way not only independent comics, but mainstream comics would go for the next 20+ years. Yet it resulted in a lot of drek that aped the style of studio but missed out on what was the core appeal and what made those comics work*. Captain Stone isn't  terrible, but there are a few points I think it could stand to shore up on.

I mentioned the late 80's Vertigo influence because Captain Stone drips it. Pages or noirish dialogue-check. Rare actual speech by the characters, instead focusing on textboxes-check. Have all of that overlain of simply gorgeous full page artwork? Check, check, check! I can't speak highly enough about the artwork- the mixture of dreamlike visuals and what seems like hand painted colouring is entrancing, as are the small visual bits that act to illustrate story beats.

The writing itself isn't bad either. In fact it meshes well with the artwork. Its just the languid pace that the writing sets. Nothing much happens in the first issue and despite all the exposition, we don't really get to know our character Charlie that well. The first issue itself doesn't even complete the info dump, given that by the end we know nothing about the titular hero or even the world that our protagonist is a part of.

This is somewhat eased by the quality of writing and the artwork so I'm willing to give it a pass. But unless next issue perks up and gets a move on, I'm consigning this to the 'wait till it's out as a trade' category.

*admittedly Vertigo missed that themselves sometimes. For every Sandman, there was the quite forgettable Kid Eternity.

Cover image courtesy of Titan Comics.

Captain Stone #1 is available from Titan Comics or your local comics retailer.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.