Jessie Robertson reviews Dark Corridor #1…
From the author of Clover Honey and 8 ½ Ghosts, RICH TOMMASO, comes an all-new ONGOING SERIES set in the fictional coastal city of RED CIRCLE—a city totally controlled by mobsters—who, after decades of wielding power, are silently being picked off oneby- one by unidentified female assassins. Like a Goodfellas script re imagined by Quentin Tarantino, this sprawling crime-adventure will keep you guessing and tuning in for more month after month!
First issues are always a tough book because it needs to succeed on so many levels; introduce the characters of the book, the universe they live in, the rules in which they live by, plus be engaging, plus have killer artwork, or at the very least, have something unique that catches readers attention. The worst thing a first issue can be is “good” or “fine” or “average.” Because those aren’t the books that excite people and more than likely get better as the series goes on but those are the ones readers drop like a bad habit.
Dark Corridor is a new book by Rich Tomamaso that’s looks to have 2 crime stories in it per issue; this one features “The Red Circle”, a story about a lost dog covered in blood who befriends an ex-cop who’s as dirty as a nun’s thoughts, and “Deadly Daughters” an interrogation of a crook on the operation table who seems to have thought he saw a ghost. As Tommasso states in the letters/editorial section, both stories have been fine tuned and honed into longer pieces so it looks like both stories (which end open-ended) will continue on for some time.
The artwork is very 1950’s, square-jawed males and closer to a cartoon serial look than modern comic book style, but the settings and dialogue feel somewhat present, especially “The Red Circle” while “Deadly Daughters” has a bit of that timeless feel like Batman: The Animated Series did. I definitely liked Red Circle more as a first issue; it drops you into a situation that you learn about as the main character does, which is a fun way to read a book. Deadly Daughters felt very re-hashed material (like the interrogation scene in Usual Suspects) but Tommasso stated it was originally from the viewpoints of these angry , vengeful women and their victims; I think I would have like to have seen that viewpoint but I do understand the narrative advantage it gives you as the omniscient narrator giving your audience the first pieces to a bigger tale; and it juxtaposes the viewpoint of the first story brilliantly so I’m ready to see where this goes.
So, where does Dark Corridor fall in the First Issue category? Well, I think; its got its own unique hook and way of telling it’s story that grips you just enough to come back for another helping next month.
Rating: 7.5/10
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Originally published August 5, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
