< comics/x >
TEXARKANAby Patrick Neighly and Donny Hadiwidjaja
($12.95,
Mad Yak Press)
Reviewed by Evan KeelingI like post apocalyptic future stories. When done well you get a nice juxtaposition between futuristic and antiquated, a nice mix of old and new and future technology all mixed together.
Texarkana is no exception; it has over-the-top futuristic weaponry and gadgets and such, but they are still going to opium dens and riding in rickshaws. Patrick Neighly and company do a good job of combining the futuristic with Asian and cowboy influences.
Now the idea of a police state with criminal justice doled out on the streets isn't new (Judge Dredd) but
Texarkana puts an interesting new spin on it. While it is generally played more for laughs, I like how it is a team that judges a criminal. You have a judge and an executioner but you also have defense and prosecuting attorneys. I think this element allows for some nice group dynamics; while they are all a team working together, there is a point on every assignment where they have to work against one another.
Donny Hadiwidjaja's art is good and it has a nice extended cartoony quality, with extreme perspective and long bodies, but it is still grounded in reality and is consistent in its approach. I like Anne Marie Horne's coloring — it's solid and has good light and dark ratios, but I do wish that it retained more of the feel from the beautiful water color portraits of the characters.
The story is good; it's a little hard to follow sometimes but it is the first in a series so there is still some development to go. I would have liked to see more action take place in Texas to establish the setting of where they are coming from, but I believe that is coming up in later books.
Overall I have to say that I enjoyed
Texarkana and I look forward to reading more adventures in this world.
[ Link to this review ]
