"Lost and Found"
Writer/Artist: Martin Eden
Publisher: Ominous Comics
This title's production values have taken a leap forward with a glossy colour card cover and a more assured use of computer assistance in the internal art, and the result is probably the best looking issue so far. True, the digital lettering is still a touch clunky in places, although that too will inevitably improve as Eden's use of other computer manipulation has; and without the new style, Eden wouldn't be able to pull off a very clever trick in presenting the issue's many flashbacks by using his old hand lettering to emphasise their place in the past. So there is room for improvement, but it's clear that Eden knows what he wants to do with his new tools.It is difficult to imagine where there could be room for significant improvement in the writing, however. Eden's usual expert characterisation is front and centre once again, but the highlight of this issue is the plot structure, as we're presented with two plotlines, one a sequence of flashbacks that tie into the modern-day setting of the other. Eden quite often makes use of flashbacks, but rarely does he weave them into the narrative in such a way, and the result is a rich and involved story, full of compelling character moments and some good old fashioned superhero action too. Characters who appear as unblemished heroes in one plot strand are revealed as having a darker, more complicated, side in another, and the central figure of the issue, femme fatale Molly Valentine, is made tragically sympathetic in the flashbacks while still retaining her cynicism and danger in the present day sequences. It's a great display of plotting and characterisation that puts so-called professional efforts to shame.
This title exudes the sense of verisimilitude the bigger companies flail at with ill-judged civil rights metaphors and "realistic" dialogue, while also easily capturing the essential magic of the genre; yet again, The O Men shows what can be done with the superhero genre if one concentrates on simply telling good solid stories without going for cheap stunts.
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