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Written by Jason Arthur There is no second place in the game of life. A tough and troubled man, known only as Mr. Rutherford, is lured to a clandestine meeting by a mysterious woman calling herself "Sheppard." He is joined by six others, a group diverse in race, age, gender and station in life. In fact the only thing these seven strangers have in common is that they all have skeletons in their closets. Big skeletons. With evidence of their dark deeds, Sheppard blackmails them into a cross-country race with only one rule...WIN. With absolutely nothing but the clothes on their back the race is on. For the winner that big skeleton in their closets goes away....the losers won't be so lucky. THE GOOD - Arthur's story is almost immediately engaging and the style and rhythm of the dialogue perfectly fit this type of crime/caper story. The writer does a commendable job of introducing a large ensemble cast and making their individual personalities begin to emerge in only one issue. By the halfway point of this issue I knew I wanted to see this story through to the end in issue #3. Heufemann's art is a perfect match for this genre of storytelling. His old school illustrative style gives us seven distinct characters, a must for an ensemble piece like Loaded, and his use of solid blacks really makes this book work in black & white. THE BAD - The only major area in which I can see room for improvement is in the lettering. Font size and balloon placement crowd the artwork unnecessarily in places. Sound effects, signs and billboards could have been handled with a more graphic flair, incorporating them more seamlessly into the action or setting. There are a few weak panels of art, a few inconsistencies or inaccuracies here or there. Fortunately, it's nothing that pulls you out of the story. THE UGLY TRUTH - This book is well worth getting your hands on. It's guns and mystery and sucker punches...it's "Rat Race" done "100 Bullets" style. Loaded #1 is self-published by Jason Arthur and is available at www.jasonarthur.com
-- Any publishers that would like Kel Nuttall to do a review, please feel free to contact him or you can go through Ed Dukeshire on the contact page. --
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LOADED #1