Review - Change #1

Change is good right? It leads to new things, whether they be good or bad. They can also be part of a new comic series, a four-parter from Image Comics starting with Change #1.

The first issue is written by Ales Kot, with art by Morgan Jeske, colors by Sloane Leong and letters by Ed Brisson.

W-2 is a rapper. A famous rapper in fact, who's hellbent on finding a screenwriter to writer his dream film "W-2 Versus Lovecraft." He taps the talents of Sonia--a screenwriter--only he's not quite so happy with the results of her multiple passes. A firing and multiple venting sessions later, W-2 finds himself in the middle of events focused on cults and aliens.

First off, Change #1 is the start of something strange. Kot's tale is sort of a mystery of life wrapped up in a screenplay, with both Sonia and W-2 acting as key players. It's almost as if the book is possibly a screenplay itself and has the feeling that it's actually part of something much larger and more important. Involving Lovecraft tends to have that effect.

Second, the story is dense. Kot flips back and forth between layers of the story, moving out from the center to an almost omniscient narrator type figure. It's a unique form of storytelling that has the reader jumping around with the story. Since it's only the first issue, the verdict is still out on whether or not the storytelling will effectively tell the story, but so far it looks like it'll at least require you to think as you read.

Jeske's art has a newspaper strip feel to it. It moves between the layers of the story rather effortlessly, keeping it all consistent regardless of where it's at. The characters are shown as very expressive, reacting to the events of the book with emotion. There are also some very interesting perspectives in some of the panels, providing some peculiar vantage points of the action.

The name should tell you all need to know. Change #1 is a book that requires some investment on the part of the reader and could end up paying off big. The first issue requires some cautious optimism because it's a little unclear where Kots plans to take the story. Right now though, it's got some potential to be something interesting.

Change #1 is available now with interiors below.