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STEEL KITTY #1
by Ben Brown and Tracy L. Newman
($1.50 US/$1.75 elsewhere from Ben Brown / Psi-Comix / PO Box 2672/ Sioux City, IA 51106 USA.
E-mail.
18 or Older)
Review by Steve Keeter
It's an intriguing premise that begins this premier issue of
Steel Kitty... a deranged circus clown, scarred and mutilated in an accident 15 years earlier, returns to search for a mysterious map, and terrorize the mayor of a small town. There's a detailed build-up, leading to the appearance, at the end, of the steel-taloned heroine Steel Kitty. It's an exciting comic, but suffers from scratchy inking, especially in regards to the backgrounds; there's just a whole lot of pen-scratching back and forth, and almost no background art otherwise. Also distracting is the overuse of a whole lotta cusswords; it seems everyone is using that "f" word or other nastiness to the point where it detracts from the story itself and definitely goes beyond what is needed for any dramatic emphasis. So, I would recommend toning that down a bit, tightening up on the artwork (illustrator Tracy L. Newman exhibits genuine skill in, for instance, drawing faces and expressions of emotion, and especially also in the action scenes, so the raw talent is there for refining), and, hey, hope to see much more of our claw-bearing heroine in the next issue, in particular the story of how she came to be. So
Steel Kitty is a comic that bears watching, and it will be interesting to see how the story and the art develop in coming issues.
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