Review - The Love She Offered #1 (@SourcePtPress)

"We'll be done here in no time."

Grief takes different forms. For many it's a matter of finding closure before moving on and that closure may include interrogating a suspect previously declared innocent to get to the truth. The Love She Offered #1 from Source Point Press has that. The issue is written by Glenn Møane, illustrated by Tirso Llaneta, colored by Monte Thompson and lettered by Sean Rinehart.

Six weeks ago, Brian Thompson's daughter Julia was murdered, stabbed several times with a knife and left for dead right outside her home. The police questioned her ex-boyfriend Sean, but he was never charged. Brian, however, is convinced that Sean is the killer. He knows it. And he wants justice for his daughter. Together with his brother Earl and his best friend Ross, Brian comes up with a plan. They kidnap Sean and bring him to a remote cabin. Their goal: To make Sean confess his crime. Everything goes to hell from there...

The way Møane starts the issue off is innocent enough, introducing the reader to Sean as someone who's seemingly innocent if he's to be believed. The issue is written in a way that his innocence is constantly being questioned which, in turn, forces the reader to question the truth of what actually happened that fateful night. Møane's dialogue is very clean and believable as he effectively taps into the presumed sentiment of a grieving father. His reaction also involves the aforementioned plot to extract a confession out of him and it's interesting to see how things quickly devolve as Brian is a little out of his element when it comes to interrogating Sean. The ending of the issue is fascinating as well, in that it offers a twist that may (or may not) confirm some suspicions on the part of the reader.

Llaneta's artwork is effective at presenting the players with easily distinguishable feature so that the reader knows who's who and what's what. All of the characters look like fairly common residents of a quiet neighborhood which adds a level of reality to the book that makes it a bit more believable. Llaneta imbues each of the characters with facial expressions that are very forceful and add to the overall emotions running high throughout the book. Most of the issue takes place at night and that's made more emphatic by Llaneta's emptying of the gutters to make that contrast more stark. This effect is furthered by Thompson's colors, which are largely darker blues, browns and reds.

The Love She Offered #1 sets the foundation for an interesting whodunnit of sorts. Sean continually proclaims his innocence, but there are those who feel that there's something he's not telling and it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Møane's script feels natural in that the players aren't speaking in platitudes and speeches. Llaneta's artwork offers a good look at a grieving father and his family as they seek to learn the truth about his daughter. The Love She Offered #1 is a fitting name for a book that seeks to learn exactly what it was about Julia's love that got her murdered.

The Love She Offered #1 is available now.