Review - Mitch Hammer: Construction Mutant #1 (@relicswish)


"Moult with me?"

The pursuit of science is everlasting. Generally, as one seeks more knowledge they end up pushing the edges of what's known further and further. Sometime that push goes a little too far, as is the case in Mitch Hammer: Construction Mutant #1. The issue is written by Chris Lewis, penciled by Fernando Pinto, colored by K. Michael Russel and lettered by Nic J. Shaw.

Mitch Hammer: Construction Mutant #1 is about a construction worker who runs afoul of science gone wrong at the local community college. That means big monsters. Oh, and there’s also the militant wing of the National Blood Clot association.

The issue opens in a way that's pretty intense and Lewis isn't shy about keeping things zany from there. The premise certainly isn't new, but Lewis gives the issue enough in the way of unique characters and situations that the concept doesn't feel played out. In fact, there are some subtle takes on class warfare in the issue as well as Lewis emphasizes that even though they're just "construction workers" that at the end of the day they can be more human than those who are perceived to be higher than them socially. The dialogue lends itself to this concept in addition to being just ridiculous enough that it doesn't lose sight of the fact it's also telling a story. The story's progression doesn't really wrap anything up per se, but that works in its favor as it definitely sets up further events as the series progresses.

Pinto's pencils do an excellent job of keeping pace with the overall ludicrous tone of the book. Mitch Hammer is illustrated with an appropriate level of being grizzled; it's not so much that it becomes a caricature of what it's attempting to purvey. All the characters in general are illustrated with heavy lines that offer rather sharp angles for the most part that Pinto peps up with heavy cross-hatching here and there. Stacking and overlaying panels accompanies the steady build-up of the pace and Pinto realizes that keeping things moving is important for a book as frenetically charged as Mitch Hammer: Construction Mutant #1. Russel's colors are a mix of reds and greens primarily, contrasting between the human construction workers and the representation of the aforementioned science gone wrong.

Mitch Hammer: Construction Mutant #1 is a harmless first issue that nails what it aims for. Mitch Hammer is a construction worker with a big heart and--by the end of the issue--a closer connection to his profession. Lewis' script is engaging and amusing, offering up some rather entertaining lines throughout that do nothing but entertain. Pinto's pencils are clean and do a great job of emphasizing all the action that quickly unravels as the book proceeds. Mitch Hammer: Construction Mutant #1 takes a tried and true concept and spins it in a way that it can claim ownership to a new take.

Mitch Hammer: Construction Mutant #1 is available now.

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