Reviewed by Arni Gunnarson. Strongly Recommended.
SAM & TWITCH #1-2
"Udaku"
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Angel Medina
Published August, September 1999 by Image Comics/McFarlane Productions
"Sam
& Twitch" are the unlikely names of two unlikely police detectives who
were fired from their jobs thanks to a little meddling from the afterlife.
After a brief spell as Private Investigators in the pages of Todd McFarlane's
monthly SPAWN comic book, long time partners Sam & Twitch are (to
their great surprise) given a sign that hell has surely frozen over when
their old shift lieutenant from the NYPD shows up offering them their
old jobs as detectives back. No sooner have they accepted than the "king-mother
of all doozies" falls into their hands. Two multiple homicides, no apparent
motive, and the only link; body parts that can only be described as the
work of Frankenstein.
After reading the first two issues of this new monthly series from Image Comics, what really got to me was the tight story line. There is no wasted space in this book and nowhere can I see words written that the images describe. It is very obvious that a great deal of thought has been put into this project in regards to the interaction of story and plot as well as the art and page layout. Angel Medina (KISS PSYCHO CIRCUS) has shown that he can do more than draw 80's rockstars in makeup and it will be interesting to see more of his work on this series. Aside from a guest-appearance by the big "S" himself (which they could well have done without) the first double page spread is gorgeous (and that's only the beginning). The inking, coloring and lettering are also superbly handled and the fact that word-balloons are not used allows the reader to enjoy the art that would otherwise be obscured. In other words, so far so good.
Even at first glance it is noticeable that this is not your everyday SPAWN-related book. This is not the story of a costume-clad hero or anti-hero, but rather a well executed crime story featuring two New York detectives. You don't need to wade through 70+ issues of SPAWN to get to know these characters and that, in my book, is a huge plus, and a plus for new readers as well. So if you have seen SAM & TWITCH on the shelf and maybe had a look at it but then decided to put it back, run back to the store and get this book. This is my pick as the most surprising book of the year so far and I can't recommend it strongly enough.
Strongly Recommended.
SAM & TWITCH is an ongoing series, available monthly from Image. Issue #3 will be available soon.
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