The Good
Image Comics has done it again! Dancer is another new series from Image that is flat-out wonderful. Alan Fisher and his companion, Quinn, a ballerina, are on the run from a sniper trying to kill him. Right off the bat, I'm reminded of the film Leon: The Professional as Alan, an ex-sniper himself is teamed up with the embodiment of innocence and on their way, he must divulge information from his past in order to regain Quinn's trust. These two characters balance each other out wonderfully.
Such a dynamite story. It's very familiar and a story anyone can just jump right into and on top of that, the twist in this story is so cool, and no, I'm not telling you what it is. Normally, with a twist in a first issue of a story, you won't really care because the book is setting up the world and characters, so it's hard for a new series to shock a reader. In Dancer #1, the twist actually shocks the reader because it breaks from the world that's been set up. It's something you really have to see for yourself. Words can't really describe how well the story and the twist work together.
You'll be hooked from page one as the action kicks into high gear with some beautiful art from Nic Klein. This issue is paced so well and by the time you're finished with the book, you just want more. Fantastic story and dialogue from writer Nathan Edmunson.
This is my first time reading Edmunson's or Klein's work and I was very excited to find this book because these guys, at least from this first issue, work so well together. I loved the washed out colors in this book, and I really loved the heavy shadows on Alan's face, while Quinn's face had none of that. She's innocent and doesn't seem to have the dark past that Alan does. It's small little things like shadows that really make this book amazing.
The Bad
I want to read issue two right now.
The Verdict
First review of the day, it's my pick of the week! Dancer blew me away. I didn't know what to expect, but what I did get was a fantastic story with a great twist that already has me interested in the rest of the series. This is probably one of my top 10 favorite first issues to a series of all time.
I loved the story here, which reminded me a lot of Leon: The Professional, and the characters, from what we've seen so far. were great. I loved the weird twist this book lays on you. Klein's art and Edumnson's writing work so well together. It's paced incredibly well and I love the look of the art and how the art reflects the characters.
Overall, this is the one you want to pick up this week. It's a fantastic start to a series.