Comic Book Review – Silver #1 & Silver #2

A charity auction involving the silver collection of a wealthy couple is taking place in 1931 New York City when an overzealous and overweight FBI Inspector Myrick arrives warning that James Finnigan is planning to steal the items.  Supporting the assessment is a voice over from the notorious thief.  The decision is made to carry on with the event while the law enforcement officer orchestrates a plan to apprehend the expected culprit; his decision-making seems rather faulty when he encourages the guards to hide in closet until it is revealed that he is Finnigan under the disguise of his chief adversary.

Myrick soon appears on the scene with a SWAT team and all hell breaks loose with bullets flying everywhere.  James Finnigan has to rely on his previous experience as a circus performer and the communication with two of his co-conspirators to avoid being captured.  An element of unworldliness enters the proceedings when a young Asian kitchen boy directs him to an angel figure located in the study which unveils a secret passageway.  Finnigan discovers a collection of statutes adding to the creepy surroundings as well as a safe containing a dusty ledger and an antique bar of silver.

An interesting choice is having the name of the characters as titles for each of the chapters with the first one being named after the protagonist of the story Finnigan.  Creator Stephan Franck puts his experience of storyboarding animated films such as 9 (2009) and Despicable Me(2010) to good use when devising the layouts of each page.   With silver being an essential element to the tale it seems appropriate that the graphic novel be in black and white rather than colour.  The narrative contributes to the storytelling which propels forward.  The only qualm is the whole idea that a group of security guards would agree to hide in closet which is addressed by Franck but it stills comes across as an unbelievable plot point.            

            

Within the safety of the getaway van James Finnigan celebrates an early retirement with his two partners only to discover that he lost the key to the safety deposit box in the mayhem of escaping from the FBI.  As he spends a sleepless night trying to figure out how to fix the financial misfortune, the con man reads the ledger he stole along with a bar of silver; to his amazement he uncovers journal entries which could lead to a score which will rectify the situation tenfold.

In an effort to verify what he has read is true, James Finnigan seeks out more information about the deceased physician Dr. Abraham Van Helsing and learns about his granddaughter Rosalynd Sledge.  A trip is taken to rural Pennsylvania where the New Yorker is directed a graveyard where he discovers Rosalynd hard at work killing vampires.  With living dead now completely dead the assassin for hire reluctantly decides to partner with Finnigan who has started to assemble his heist team.

When it comes to character introductions creator Stephan Franck seems to have a flare for dramatic entrances and the graveyard scene is no exception; it allows for the tale to become an extension of the universe of Bram Stoker without the first appearance of a vampire being too jarring.  There are some nice nuances incorporated into the images such as a hidden clenched fist.  

The female characters are sexy but not the stuff of fantasy though I could have some sweet dreams about Anna Olson from the first issue who is a smouldering vixen lurking behind those librarian eyeglasses!  Currently, it is hard to judge the relationship between James Finnigan and Rosalynd Sledge as they only meet each other at the end of the chapter; however, one gets a sense that the duo will be given plenty of time to get to know each other with the subsequent issues.