Out of a job and stretched to her wits end, Abbott #3 doesn’t leave it’s titular protagonist in the best of ways. There isn’t much more explained, but a few more interesting mysteries and a seemingly horrifying antagonist make this entry another strong entry into the Abbott series. Some of the minor gripes of the series are still present such as writer Saladin Ahmed’s overuse of speech bubbles, but that shouldn’t detract from a fun and enjoyable read.
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Abbott #2 does enough to meet the lofty expectations set by its introductory issue by introducing a wide variety of interesting characters and leaning more into the supernatural elements of the story and still maintaining it’s detective story roots. Writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Sami Kivelä experiment enough in this issue to stretch out their roots and reach for the even higher heights in future issues. However, I do have some hesitations that the story may go down the traditional “Chosen One” story path that we have seen time and time again.
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Abbott #1 begins as an homage to 70’s Blaxploitation films. Starring a touch as nails black female reporter who stumbles upon a mystery that only she can solve. But Abbott #1 evolves into something much greater and more occult. Writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Sami Kivelä both work beautifully together to create what has the potential to be one of the best new ongoing series this year.
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And just like that Beautiful Canvas is finished with a spectacular fourth and final installment. Ryan K. Lindsay has crafted a thrilling and personal story placed in the center of a chaotic universe, and leaves us with just as many questions as when we started. As the series has continued, in all my reviews I asked for some answers to the numerous questions Lindsay brought up in each issue; and now that the series is over, I feel relieved he chose not to answer most of them.
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As Beautiful Canvas continually unfurls, the chaotic super powered world and the people who inhabit are revealed as well. Once again we are left with little definitive answers regarding any major characters, but inexplicably Beautiful Canvas #3 does a better job than the prior issue in handling the chaos.
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While still slim on details and purposely vague on hidden agendas, Beautiful Canvas #2 does enough to maintain the promise and expectations that the first issue started. Although the reader will eventually need some answers, as of now simply being a part of this intricate plot thread and amazing characters is enough to satisfy for a little while longer.
Read MoreDeer Editor is smart—deceptively so. The tablet-view comic, which is about an anthropomorphic journalist named Bucky, is peppered with a number of obligatory deer-related puns, but Deer Editor does not limit itself to Popsicle-stick humor. Bucky, the Hartigan-esque editor of the crime beat, is more Spider Jerusalem than Jimmy Olsen. His tie is always loose; he uses profanity; and he believes that his goal as a crime journalist is, in part, to "keep people out of the dirt." Writer Ryan K Lindsay and artist Sami Kivelä do not fully expose Bucky's form until the sixth panel, and the delayed reveal is worth the wait: Bucky has the charisma of a veteran me-against-the-whole-damn-world superhero. The fact that Bucky is a deer is not just a gimmick. In one scene, Bucky breaks through a car window with his antlers. But even if Bucky did not use his unique physical characteristics, his special affiliation still provides a physical representation of Bucky's social isolation. He is different than those around him, and he wears that difference on his sleeve (or, rather, on his head). Bucky is a victim of prejudice—he even receives hate mail and death threats with bigoted jokes on the envelopes—but he focuses on finding truths and exposing criminals. He is a hero, and he rises above the small-mindedness of those around him. The depictions of prejudice are subtle—much of the story centers on a murder mystery—but, as a whole, they exist as an undercurrent of targeted discrimination that flows throughout the narrative, a current that Bucky must swim against while he attempts to save lives.
The characterization of the comic’s protagonist mirrors the crime mystery that dominates the plot: Bucky, as a character, is also an enigma. Smashing the O-Line, Seijun Suzuki’s 1961 film about newspapers and drugs, features two characters: Nishina, a morally upright reporter, and Katiri, an unprincipled, results-driven journalist. Bucky seems to embody both journalistic mentalities, like a personified woodland yin and yang of newspaper ethics. He is willing to get dirty, but his actions are fueled by sympathy for those around him. Like an antlered version of Edward R. Murrow, Bucky is determined to use his talents to better the world.
Though the story seems rushed at times, the dark scenes and clever inner monologues overshadow most pacing issues, and the black-and-write art highlights the compelling gravity of the comic's narrative. Similar to David Aja's work on Hawkeye, Kivelä's thick black lines and dark shadows add to the noir elements of the story, making Deer Editor a graphic, deer-journalist version of Carol Reed's The Third Man—and John Doe is Bucky's Harry Lime.
I read Deer Editor shortly after watching the producers of Spotlight—the biographical film about the journalists from The Boston Globe who exposed sex abuse in the Boston area by Catholic priests—take home the Oscar for Best Picture, and I believe that, though Spotlight deals with some heavier issues, audiences today appreciate the relevance of both stories. Maybe that appreciation is fueled by pervasive cynicism and a widespread belief that the inveterate criminals of today need to be exposed. Maybe we see ourselves, on some level, as investigative antiheroes, flawed individuals who search for truth, so we relate to characters like Bucky. Whatever the reasons, Deer Editor is a fun, meaningful read, and I recommend it.
Deer Editor #1
Writer: Ryan K Lindsay
Artist: Sami Kivelä
Publisher: Four Colour Ray Gun