Emma Withington reviews The Fix #1…
From the creators of The Superior Foes of Spider-Man (Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber), comes a story of the crooked cops, scheming mobsters, and corrupt politicians that run things—and the sex toy that can bring them all down. Oh, and the hero is a drug-sniffing beagle named Pretzels. Bad people do bad things to each other in this frenetic, outrageous, sometimes off-putting new caper!
So, to sum up:
1. Read it.
2. No, seriously – Read this.
3. READ IT.
Off you go then…
Oh, I need to justify that? (I honestly thought just saying READ IT in caps would do it)…
As a long time fan of characters such as Deadpool and well formulated irreverent humour, it’s no surprise that The Fix #1 provided a huge amount of enjoyment and genuine, recurrent laugh out loud moments – my face hurts a little.
Initially I was drawn in by the Grand Theft Auto style cover and the above description, which suggested it was as if Saints Row and GTA jumped into a blender; combining gritty visuals and off the wall insanity. This sounded like a fusion I should try in comic book form.
It had me hooked from the start and while packed with text The Fix #1 doesn’t feel overwritten and flows organically. Some personal structural highlights include the use of bubbles containing a magnified section of a panel image for maximum comedic effect, and the sporadic parodying of the ‘For Dummies’ book series, renaming it to the poetic alternative: ‘For Assholes’.
While it initially presents a seemingly standard concept – the escapades of two petty criminals who feel marginalised by the increasing prevalence of technological crime – things are nowhere near as straightforward as it appears. The story takes an impeccably timed u turn, leading into a not so heartfelt depiction of a young boy’s childhood dream… but I’ll leave the twists and turns for you to discover, they are all part of the fun in The Fix #1 and reading the issue unadulterated is a must!
While irreverent The Fix #1 is intelligently crafted and contains a relentless energy which carries you along for the ride, whether you like it or not, and is compulsive until the entire issue has been devoured.
Rating: 10/10
Emma Withington – Follow me on Twitter