The Crow: Death & Rebirth #1
Written by: John Shirley
Art by: Kevin Colden
Colors by: Matthew Wilson
Letters by: Shawn Lee
Cover by: Ashley Wood
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Jamie Osterberg, an American student living in Tokyo finds his life turned upside down when his fiancé, Haruko is kidnapped. Employed by Biotrope Corporation, a company that specializes in cybernetic biology, computerized prosthetics, and other high tech medical related study’s, Haruko finds herself the latest of a spree of victims chosen to become the new body for rich executive’s memories, not ready to check out due to their losing battle with disease and time it self. Jamie unable to accept that Haruko has simply left him, finds himself on the wrong end of a barrage of bullets, but instead of passing on to the other side, like many before him, he finds himself returned as The Crow, with a destiny to set the wrong things right in the name of true love.
The Crow has been my favorite comic franchise since I was first exposed to the original James O’ Barr graphic novel. I remember as a child hearing about the film and how painful the wait was before it finally hit the big screen. From that moment on, I devolved a strong obsession with the franchise that is just as strong today. When it comes to original story arcs within The Crow universe, this has to be the most interesting and clever takes on The Crow mythos since the original.
A great blend of cyberpunk ideas with the typical love and revenge aspects that fans of the series crave. John Shirley does wonderful job at keeping the vibe of the James O’ Barr written stories, but at the same time making it his own with a barrage of ingenious tweaks that are sure to leave long time fans craving more and rejoicing this remarkable resurrection of the franchise. John Shirley showcases the highest quality of writing; sometimes it feels as if Philip K. Dick was brought back from the dead due to the stories use of highly believable sci-fi elements. Imagine Blade Runner meets The Crow and prepare yourself for one hell of a ride.
The artwork is beautiful, perfectly capturing the feel of Tokyo and at the same time the dark feel of the series, by blending gloomy blacks, greys, and purples with various glowing neon colors, causing each panel to really pop visually. I also really enjoyed the range of emotion that artist Kevin Golden achieves with realistic facial expressions during close up looks at characters. Once I finally laid eyes on Jamie dawning the iconic black and white make up, I knew that I had been hooked and reeled in without much of a fight.
As a die-hard fan I absolutely loved this debut issue and as soon as I click, publish on this review will be running back to my couch at top speed to digest the second issue. The issues ability to create strong emotional connections between readers and the characters, mixed with its amazing art direction come together to create a new chapter of The Crow franchise that I ended up highly enjoying.
