Writers: Michael Avon Oeming & Ivan Brandon
Artists: Michael Avon Oeming, Nick Filardi (colors)
Publisher: Image Comics
I would be lying if I didn’t say up front that Powers is one of my three favorite current titles, along with Fables and Runaways (Goodbye, Brian Vaughan. *Sniff!*). That being said, when I heard that Michael Avon Oeming’s new Image project involved detectives and the "paranormal," and that it would be illustrated exclusively by him, I knew that I had to get my hands on it as soon as possible. You know what happens with high expectations, huh? Well, I’m happy to say that Cross Bronx doesn’t disappoint in the least, and I left this first issue feeling a rush of exaltation and breathing a sigh of relief. The world that Oeming and Ivan Brandon create in this first issue is very similar to the world of Powers, only that it is grittier (if that’s possible) and grounded in a more realistic world of human angst. We meet Detective Aponte, a man haunted by his past, present, and future who has just landed in the middle of a mystery that he can’t quite explain. Seems that someone is offing gang bangers, and that someone might be the most unlikely person of all. Don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil a second of enjoyment you’re sure to get from Cross Bronx #1. Oeming and Brandon have taken their respective experiences with Powers and NYC Mech to create an entertaining yet savage vision of New York City with a Punisher-like vigilante on the loose. What Cross Bronx lacks in originality it makes up for with great dialogue, compelling characters, and an out-of-this-world style. Or, maybe I should say on-this-world...
In Detective Aponte, Oeming and Brandon have created a character who has lost his faith in the world, as he sees the worst things man can do day in and day out. After the initial slaughter at the beginning of the issue, Aponte and his partner investigate the scene, and some characteristics of both men are made apparent. While his partner is very flip about the entire grisly spectacle (“C’mon...It’s like a record in here. Butt-Man’s Gang Bang 2004 didn’t have this much bootie.”), Aponte looks at things with a cold, rational eye (“We’ve seen retaliation 100 different ways, but this doesn’t look it.”). Aponte has lost touch with what is good in life, and his big expressive eyes reveal a man who is saddened by the violence around him and his own loss of faith. Religious symbols abound in issue #1, and all of these symbols act antagonistically on Aponte. The image of the crown recurs overtly or subliminally throughout the issue, adorning the walls of the gang-bangers apartment, appearing on a prayer card, or enlightening the side of a candle. Also, crosses appear on the necks of two of the victims of the vigilante (one is horribly mutilated), on the neck of the distraught mother, and throughout Aponte’s own home. All these symbols act as a stinging reminder to Aponte that the people of the world still have hope, even if he has lost all of his. When his wife asks him to come to mass on Sunday, he simply responds, “Iris, I just...I can’t. I can’t anymore.” The eyes and the bowed head tell more than the sparse words he utters. This is a broken man, yet you can sense a determination to break out of his frame of mind, as the last thought he has in the issue is, “I’ve gotta get this right. For once, something in this city has to go right.”
Just as powerful as the character of Detective Aponte is the remarkable artwork by Oeming, which takes some cues from his Powers work. Though they may be too gruesome to be described here, there is a spectacular full and two page spread mingled in with the normal panels. The two-pager, which is a singularly disturbing image, really made me sympathize with the disgust and despair that Aponte must feel in this city full of crime and death. Plus, the expressions of every character are truly telling, with more emotion than you’re likely to find in any comic on the shelves right now. Yes, Oeming is a master of facial animation as well as rendering crime drama! But, let’s not forget Brandon and his obvious contribution to dialogue (“That’s Miss Jackson – if you’re nasty”) and New York City realism. Together, these two creators have made Cross Bronx the current must-read from Image Comics. It’s almost like a double dose of Powers! Hope I don’t OD!
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