Narco #2 // Review
He’s woken-up next to her. That’s not exactly a bad way to end the morning after a first date. (Especially since he was trying to work-up the courage to ask her out for a long time.) Of course...the fact that she’s dead isn’t exactly a positive situation. And given his condition, it IS possible that he might have been the one responsible for her death in Narco #2. Writer Doug Wagner continues a fascinating murder/mystery story with artist Daniel Hillyard. Color comes to the page courtesy of Dave Stewart. Wagner and company manage a crisply appealing second chapter to a promising new series.
A couple of people in clean suits alert a couple of police detectives to the fact that Marcus James is awake. It was a big enough shock to be on a date with Jess to begin with. Waking-up next to her dead body was quite a shock. The fact that there were authorities there as he woke-up? Very disorienting. And since he’s clearly the most obvious suspect. Marcus is going to be taken away for questioning involving the whole incident. The only question is: how is he going to be able to explain what happened when he doesn’t even know?
Wagner's distinct juxtaposition of different plot elements fuels remarkably engaging. Marcus's condition keeps him from being completely aware of everything he might be doing. And since he gets narcoleptic whenever he gets excited, there's quite a lot that could be going on. The police aren't totally willing to make the most obvious conclusion about the homicide. But it doesn't look good for Marcus. There's a real dramatic tension that feels distinctly unlike so many other murder mystery thrillers. Wagner keeps the script from being too bogged down in ancillary details. As a result of this stark reality that's being explored on the page that feels quite irresistible.
Hillyard frames the action in clean style that feature is just enough lines to allow for texture, contour and detail. Just as Wagner's script doesn't log down the script too much detail, neither does Hillyard’s art. Stewart’s colors make no attempt to impose additional depth on the page. This is actually a really good decision typically you would be looking for the color artist to add more texture and luminosity and things of that nature. But Stewart is wise to follow the Stark simplicity of the artist line work, and the writer’s scripting.
Wagner did a hell of a job making Jess one of the more appelaing characters in the first issue. Killing her off at the end of that issue may have ben really frustrating, but it serves as a powerful emotional anchor for the beginning of a series which appears to show a great deal of potential moving forward in to its third issue. They mystery has yet to reveal a great amount of the substance of the mystery. It IS still possible that the plot will lose some of its charm once the story really gets going, but the first two issues feel fairly brilliant.
