George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards: The Hard Call
Issue: #1
Writer: Daniel Abraham
Artist: Eric Battle
32 pp. Dabel Brothers. $3.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
The new Dabel Brother's comic "George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards: The Hard Call" is based on the long running "Wild Cards" sequence of novels in which Martin is a regular contributor and editor. The title "Wild Cards" refers to an alien "wild card" virus which effects everyone exposed to it differently. The majority of those exposed draw the Black Queen, a hideous instantaneous death in which bodies disintegrate or explode. A much smaller percentage draw the Joker, which causes various types of disfigurement. The lucky few, however, draw the Ace, which gives them some type of supernatural power. Drawing the ace then is like hitting the superhero lottery.
Daniel Abraham, the promising new fantasy writer of "A Shadow in Summer" and "A Betrayal in Winter", as well as a contributor to some of Martin's current "Wild Card" novels, has the scripting duties for the issue. Abraham is showing himself to be a top-notch fantasy talent, so I was really looking forward to see what he would do with the series.
The story introduces us to Croyd "The Sleeper" Crenson, an Ace already hiding from the cops for his unspecified past deeds. Within pages, Crenson finds himself framed for the murder of his friend. Crenson struggles to find his mysterious assailant, all while the cops are closing in on him.
Meanwhile at a school science fair, a strain of the wild card virus is accidently unleashed, instantaneously killing many of the students, teachers and parents attending. However, a few survive, including one of them, Alex, who discovers that he has drawn the Ace.
Abraham does a admirable job with the writing chores, as one would expect with his pedigree. He smoothly sets up the first act, considering there is a vast amount of background information to the story that has to be dumped on the reader. This gives the story a depth and detail that is likely to play out as the series continues, but lacks any immediate punch. Eric Battle handles the art chores on the series, and his work is inconsistent. Some of the panels are rendered beautifully, but many like the wide angled shots appear rushed. All in all, Battle does a workmanlike job on the first issue, but the artwork does hinder the overall appeal of the book, and is an area that definitely needs to be improved for the remaining issues.
For fans of the series, I don't need to tell you to check out the series. However for the non-fans of the novels, I question if there is enough immediate payoff or appeal in the first issue to capture your interest enough to come back for more. Being a fan of the novels and Abraham, I found "Wild Cards, The Hard Call Part 1" to be a positive start to the series, but I am hoping to see some improvement, in the areas of art specifically, as the series continues.
Final Word: 73 out of 100
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