Grand Passion #1 Review

"Grand Passion" #1 from Dynamite -

     Steve and Mabel are a modern day Bonnie and Clyde. They live out their days for the thrill of the hunt, and the adrenaline of taking that which doesn't belong to them. Different towns, unpredictable strategies, different banks - they all fall one by one to the courageous cunning of the larcenous lovers. It seems that this duo is unstoppable, that their love should be an adrenaline-stoked fire...But secretly, in her deepest places, Mabel is lonely, unfulfilled, incomplete. In Fair Valley County, Illinois, James "Mac" McNamara has just moved there and landed a position as a sheriff's deputy. He goes about his life day to day doing his job as well as he is able and doing his best to fit into a small town where he is considered to be an outsider, even by those he has to trust with his life. A solemn man, James is also a widower, passing his time in a haze of pain and loneliness. But life is about to spin wildly out of control for both James and Mabel in a way neither could ever imagine. When Steve and Mabel decide to hit Fair Valley's bank, James, and his partner, show up to stop them; however, when Mabel and James lock eyes, a fire is lit, a passion is ignited like neither of them of have ever felt before. They only problem is that both of their partners end up dead...And love or no love, James and Mabel are out for vengeance. There will be blood. 

    James Robinson writes this very interesting tale of modern-day star-crossed lovers in "Grand Passion" #1. Despite not being very attracted to the romantic genre of comics, I felt intrigued enough by this story to pick it up and check it out. I was in no way disappointed. Robinson gives us a Greek Chorus-like narrator that has shades of omniscience. Utilizing the captions, the narrator gives us the settings, the backstories, even candid glimpses into the inner lives of the characters - but the narrator never makes an appearance.  Through the narrator's eyes, we, like the narrator become fascinated with these characters, their motivations and their emptiness. I was left wondering who the narrator was, why they knew so much, and what part they played in the tragedy that was about to unfold for James and Mabel. Tom Feister's art communicated Robinson's story amazingly here. Feister drew faces that were so expressive that it was haunting sometimes - he knows how to makes the eyes of his characters truly speak their emotions. Sure Feister's work can be a bit blocky at times, and there was a sex scene with human bodies in a position that seemed a bit unnatural, but overall, Feister hit the mark with emotional content for his artwork, which is really what I think this book is all about. I love the premise of this book. How hugely tragic it must be to have to murder your soulmate and all your dreams with your own two hands. I am all in. 

RATING: 8.75 out of 10. 

CAVEAT: This book has mature themes and nudity. FOR MATURE READERS ONLY.

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