Ice Cream Man #8 // Review
Ice Cream Man is a relatively new series from Image Comics, this issue follows two ambulance drivers as they make their way through the night. Interspersed within the story are small vignette-style sub-stories that happen within this universe. Written by W. Maxwell Prince, with art by Martin Morazzo and colors by Chris O’Halloran, this story is well put together, and eases you into it like a warm tub.
As mentioned previously, the issue follows two ambulance drivers as they drive around town trying the different drugs that they can get their hands on, all the while passing by the people who need their help. Full of comically bizarre irony, this story takes you on a ride that is reminiscent of the awkward monotony of a mushroom trip. Bland, but in a weirdly fascinating way, whether it’s the odd scene of a bunch of kids getting rid of a dead clown who has been shot in the head, or a couple of good ol’ boys playing a game called 'fork through hands,” this story is wildly entertaining.
A fantastic first issue to read, this story is written by W. Maxwell Prince, an Eisner nominated writer who has also worked on Electric Sublime and Judas: The Last Days. His writing talent is equally present in this series, as Ice Cream Man does a fantastic job of satirizing suburban life as it tries to answer the question “Why are we all just so horrible to each other? Is it learned or are we born with it?”
The art and coloring are done by both Martin Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran, whose work really adds to the existential nature of the comic. Martin Morazzo has also worked on a couple of other series with writer W. Maxwell Prince including The Electric Sublime, which like this comic employs a similar drawing style of thin lines and low shading. Chris O’Halloran himself has a very extensive portfolio, having done numerous work on a wide variety of Marvel titles, as well as titles from Dynamite Comics. His use of bland color tones only adds to the existentialist ideas that are found in the story, as well as the dullness of everyday suburban life.
This story’s use of small vignettes that go on around the two ambulance drivers as they experiment with drugs helps keep the story moving forward as well as tie-in comedy, thriller and even horror into the overall tale, creating a perfect drama. This can be a very hard thing to do with such a hard genre to write about such as existentialism, which, if done wrong can, become very mind-numbing.
