AKA #1

Posted: Tuesday, September 17, 2002
By: Darren Schroeder

Writer(s): Dara Naraghi (Writer/letterer/publisher)
Artist(s): Steve Black (Creator)
Publishers: Ferret Press
Address: 1080 Merrimar Circle South, Suit B, Columbus, OH 43220, USA
Price: $2.00

Katie and Alison are private investigators working on a matrimonial case. They have gotten pictures of the husband caught in the act, but if their client is going to escape the marriage without scandal she needs their help in recovering a certain video tape...

The first thing that you notice about this book is the striking colour cover that has the look of a 50's children's book or a Norman Rockwell painting. The interior art is just as impressive. Steve employs a very clunky style that is similar to that of Mike McMahon, but with more jagged inking. Steve copes well with the range of subject matter involved in the story, with characters, cars, digital cameras and buildings all looking coherent.

In the writing department we are just as well served. Dara gives us a standard PI plot (innocent client, nasty husband) with a hint of something not being quite right. The two detectives are a fun team with a short skirt wearing vixen and a more conservatively dressed geek girl. They work well together and so far seem to use their brains instead of violence to get things done. The dialogue between the two is light and amusing.

In all this is a handsome comic which while not exactly thrill a minute does treat the reader and material with some intelligence.

In a Word: Jolly.

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