Brodie's Law #1

We’ve heard it said before. That it’s difficult to write a series based around a villain. You can’t craft a tale around someone who isn’t a good guy. While it’s true it’s a difficult road to travel down, it certainly isn’t impossible. Every now and again a writer is able to take an unlikable guy and make him into a very unlikely catalyst for a story and that is exactly what you’ll find in the pages of Brodie’s Law: Project Jameson.

Published by Pulp Theatre Entertainment, Brodie’s Law starts off as a pretty straightforward crime story. Pulp Theatre Entertainment opens with Brodie in a world of pain. Bleeding out from a gun shot wound he received in a job gone wrong, we get to see the world he lives in and how he copes on a day to day basis. Of course Brodie doesn’t have time to just lay down and die. There are people after him and when those people make an example of the woman he loves and his son, all bets are off and Brodie sets out for revenge. What happens next sets the stage for a mix of really dark and hard edged crime and drama with a little science fiction thrown in for good measure (just a little mind you).

David Bircham and Daley Osiyemi created Brodie’s Law but when it came time to get down to business they turned the plot and character over to a seasoned veteran, Alan Grant. Known for such hard edged books as Lobo and Judge Dread/Batman, Alan took this not so nice guy and pushed him to the wall before knocking it down to move him forward. As I read issues #1-4 I couldn’t help but make the comparison to the movie Payback with Mel Gibson from a few years ago. Already a remake of an old noir film, Payback was about a bad guy looking to get what was his… no more, no less. Of course we wanted Mel Gibson to win because he was the star of the movie but when you boiled it all down he was a criminal and the money he wanted back was dirty and stolen. He did bad things to get it the first time and did bad things to get it the second time. David, Daley, and Alan are crafting the same kind of tale where the “hero’ is nothing more than the most likable guy to root for because everyone else he deals with is even more of a scum than he is. It’s a hell of a trick to pull off but so far through four issues they’ve done it well and I can’t wait to read issue #5.

Bringing the world of Brodie’s Law to life visually is the job of co-creator David Bircham. Artist on the Slain graphic novel for 2000 AD, David has a unique style that seems to be one part design, one part comic book and one part animation. You can see pages where he experiments and gets stylish on the reader with out loosing them in the process. The story is always easy to follow and it’s clear what’s going on at all times. What really helps the art shine are the tones and textures thrown in for good measure. This isn’t the type of book that would lend itself to bright super-heroish colors and they know it.

All said this is a cool book. It belongs at a company like Image or even under one of DC’s alternate lines like Vertigo. It’s that strong a book. You can check it out for yourself at your local comic book shop. If they don’t have it on the shelf they can re-order it or hit up the guys at Pulp Theatre Entertainment when you see them at the major cons in 2005. In the meantime check out their site at: http://www.pulptheatre.com/index.html for more art and info and an exclusive preview to Brodie’s Law called JACK.

Reviewer: Ian Ascher

--
Ian Ascher is a freelance Writer/Creator

Any publishers that would like Ian Ascher to do a review, please feel free to contact him or you can contact Ed Dukeshire on the contact page.

--
Any statements made, expressed or implied on Digital Webbing are solely those of columnists or persons interviewed and do not represent the editorial position of the administration, who does not accept responsibility of such statements. All characters and artwork shown on Digital Webbing are trademark and © of their respective owners.