Weird Detective #1 –
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Fred Van Lente
Art by Giui Vilanova
Colors by Mauricio Wallace
There’s weird, and there’s weird for the sake of being weird. The question is, when do you cross that line? When you see a title like Weird Detective, it’s right there, so you have to expect it going on. This new Dark Horse title definitely bring plenty of it. So, let’s see just how weird Fred Van Lente’s newest offering gets.
The story follows Detective Sebastian Greene, who was once an average cop, now turned top detective. There is actually quite a bit of narration that explains the character which, without it, you would be completely lost and out of touch. Along with that we have a very strange case that no one seems to be able to figure out, so enter Detective Greene. Everyone knows there is more to him than it seems, but they all have the same explanation for is. I won’t say what it is, because it’s actually kind of funny (at least the first few times.) As most detective stories go, Greene finds himself with a new partner, and he doesn’t like it. What he doesn’t know is, there is a reason the two have been paired up. The investigation takes a MAJOR turn, thanks to a connected case, and that drives most of the story. Fast forward to the end, it definitely sets up a very interesting scenario for the next issue.
While I did enjoy the story, and the narration, I did feel like this issue actually could have ended a couple of different times. There were two reveals in this issue that I feel would have made a better ending, and actually made the reader want to come back more. There is a joke that runs it’s course, but one of the characters actually echos that sentiment, so I applaud Van Lente for that. The art is decent, but you won’t be blown away by it. This story really walks a fine line between weird and unnecessarily weird. With the story of who Greene is and the case itself, you find yourself trying to figure out which story you want to know more about, but don’t feel like you can fully focus on both. If you like weird, this is definitely for you. You do get answers to a lot of questions right away, so there isn’t too much to get dragged out. At the same time, this second issue definitely needs to drive up the intrigue.
RATING: PICK UP