Masked #1 –
Titan Comics
Written by Serge Lehman
Pencils by Stéphane Créty
Inks by Julien Hugonnard-Bert
Colors by Gaétan Gorges
Letters by Cat Connery
Translated by Edward Gauvin
Some cities are stranger than others. If you spend enough time in New York City, there are probably very few things that would strike you as odd. As an outsider, you can’t help but notice these things. This week, Titan Comics takes us to Paris (or what was once Paris) to a futuristic world where strange things have been happening. That brings us to this new series, Masked.
We start off with almost a mission briefing, while witnessing a group of soldiers investigating an incident in a secluded area. It’s important to pay attention to the details in both the art and the writing here, as this will be important as the story goes on. The current world presented in this story is somewhat of an aftermath to that, and the story of Frank Braffort. I won’t go into too much detail, and spoil what I just mentioned, but Frank has been through a lot and is just trying to put his life back together. His sister is helping him, but it’s not too long before someone tries to pull him into his old life. All the while people are seeing what are being called “anomalies” throughout the city, something Frank is no stranger to in his past. These phenomenon are causing an “us versus them” mentality amongst the citizens and the government/protectors. You get the feeling that Frank is more important than even he realizes as the first issue comes to a close.
The story definitely provides intrigue, but part of me feels like it’s almost too much. It’s got a good base for a sci-fi action thriller, but there’s not quite enough thrill to match the mystery. I wouldn’t say it is overly complicated, as the initial pages paint quite the picture of what happened with Frank and his connection to everything, but it seems like we should have gotten more of a clear indication of what’s to come. The reason I say that is, this is a 4-issue series, so there isn’t much time to make everything clear without cramming it all in. If this were 6 issue, I would probably be less worried. At the same time, the character base is good, blending sci-fi with a bit of international intrigue never hurts and you do get that feeling of wanting certain reveals that you don’t get right away. One reveal did fall a little flat, but you get the sense that it was just an appetizer for a larger meal going forward. The art is very good, in a series where each detail is clearly very important. There are a couple of action sequences that were executed very well, and the art alone makes you want to keep reading. I think Titan really has something here. My main worry (and I think it’s a legitimate one), is that they will end up having to cram a lot into the last 2 issues and things will get to jumbled up at the end. I’m going to stick around and see what happens.
RATING: PICK UP