Review - Crossfire #1 (@SplotchComics)


"Sometimes the answer is always no."

The premise of a government-funded super-team is not a new one. There's something interesting about the notion of the government funding a group of individuals to wage their wars for them. In Crossfire #1 from Splotch Comics, that concept is taken in a slightly different direction. The issue is written by Andrew J. Lucas, illustrated by Wong Comics and lettered by Nikki Sherman.

After being hired by the Earth Protection Agency to form a team of supers, Detroit based mercenary Crossfire leads his team into battle against local crime.

Lucas attempts to introduce the reader to a new group of superheroes in Crossfire #1, but the introductions feel a little scattered. There are plenty of generic powers represented by the players and Lucas doesn't really do much to make them stand out in any way. The pacing of the narrative is just as erratic, in that Lucas crashes through their introductions as a set-up for a potential set-up by the end of the issue. That further compounds the confusing plot, in that Lucas doesn't really give the reader much to digest other than just a bunch of action sequences. And the issue ends pretty abruptly as if Lucas is forcing a cliffhanger by just breaking up a specific scene.

The artwork by Wong Comics is pretty scattered as well in its approach. The members of Crossfire's team all sport the same red garb, yet there's little to distinguish one from another in the thick of battle. Characters are illustrated by a somewhat relaxed approach that sort of undercuts the frenetic tone the story is trying to set. The backgrounds appear to be rendered in a base fashion and the characters themselves don't really sport an appearance that's unique or new. And the colors are primarily reds and blacks which tries to give the book a more mercenary-like look.

Crossfire #1 is a pretty confusing comic at times that isn't really sure what it wants to be. Crossfire and his team of "heroes" are all powered individuals who fight crime for the government and are pretty good at their job. Lucas really wants to tell a story about superheroes fighting crime, but there are some basic elements of the narrative that seem glossed over. The artwork by Wong Comics is fairly basic and doesn't really infuse the book with anything that really stands out. Crossfire #1 is a generic first issue that doesn't really hit the mark.

Crossfire #1 is available now.

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