Writer & Artist: David Hine
Colorist: Rob Steen
Publisher: Image Comics
There are some stories that take a comic writer more than just one or two weeks to create and write. Those fables are deeper, more complex and stranger than what's offered in most of your monthlies.
It took writer David Hine fifteen years to collect all his marbles to weave Strange Embrace.
You should recognize David Hine as the writer of Spawn and several Marvel titles, but I never knew he was an artist too. And it’s an absolute puzzle to me that this guy is only writing for comics. His art is gorgeous and would be an asset to any comic book that Vertigo has to offer. Hell, I think David Hine would do a great job at illustrating a creepy children’s book.
So if my information is right, this is the third official incarnation of Strange Embrace. It was first published as a B/W comic book in 1993 and then as 2003 B/W graphic novel, which got rave reviews.
But I prefer this edition, at least until there comes a nice hard cover loaded with extras (*wink, wink*).
I read this story and re-read it last night with Danny Elfman’s Nightmare before Christmas soundtrack on my earphones, and then I re-re-read it.
Ah, what a beautiful story.
Paul Auster and Clive Barker would have given their pinkie toes to call this story theirs. Like what Auster likes to do in his novels, Hine presents us a story within a story within… etc. His writing and plotting is marvellous; the reader gets a clear view of the complexity of the saga without getting lost in its cellars.
"What could one person want with a house with two hundred and fifty rooms in it?"
"But when you own a copy of every book ever written you need a lot of space."
To continue to compare Hine with auteur Auster, this kind of dialogue is exactly how readers become submerged in this story. Every scene, every page, yes, almost every panel hides a mystery or two. The game that is being played between art, captions and dialogue is profound.
For example page four, panel six: The art shows Sukumar (the main character) riding his bike, not too pleased, while some kids yell at him and a dog growls at his legs. The caption mentions that his father gave him a bike: "Every boy should have bicycle." Well, that was a nice thing for his father to do, right? Well, there is more as the captions reveal: "Also, it was fitted with a basket—-ideal for deliveries." And then the boys in the panel shout, "There goes Sukumar... on a girl’s bike!" And if you look closely at the panel, you see they are right. How hiliarious!
Colorists in the comic industry are a bit like screen writers in Hollywood. They write, create and earn a pay check but are not always welcome on the movie set. Colorists rarely get the credit they deserve. Imagine if they went on a strike for a couple of months and then see if you would like your comic books just the same. I don’t think so!
But here there are gentlemen at work. Rob Steen gets a credit on the cover which is well deserved. His pallet of colors make this book more accessible to readers than the black and white version. It boosts the entire book to a higher level. Yes, we adore a Grant Morrison. We love an Andy Kubert. We follow them like groupies and buy all their stuff, but who follows a colorist from title to title? Will you let the colorist sign your book at a convention, or do you prefer to wait in line for the artist?
No, David Hine should kiss Rob Steen on the cheek for making this story a classic.
Strange Embrace isn’t only well written and illustrated, it’s funny with a lot of mystery. A rare gem indeed.
For more information about this reviewer, go to www.martijnform.com
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