Review - The Fuse #1 

Review by Paul Fiander

"THE RUSSIA SHIFT," Part One

Genre fusion is a wonderful way to tell a story from a new angle. It also allows our imaginations to run wild, whether it’s a play where your Action Force (GI Joe) characters are able to reinforce your Star Wars figures to create an ultimate battle for the universe or in Antony Johnston’s case a new Detective/Sci-Fi story. Our writer does delve into this in his back matter, it’s a good piece explaining why he finds the detective a brilliant plot device and I tend to agree with him. Detectives give you a freedom to explore their professional and personal lives in a way other characters don’t. At work they can be in complete control of their emotions why a mess in their private world. Johnston’s take is slightly different and I really like this quote to some up one of his ideas;
A detective can go anywhere, from the lowest slum to the highest society, asking all the awkward, impertinent, misanthropic questions nobody else dares to.
This sums up the one of the reasons we love a detective and why I think from Holmes to Mackey we cannot help but watch with wonder as they do their job.

Now to the Fuse itself, the story is set in a future where humans have started to colonise Space. I say space as the Fuse is a space station and from the outset it feels like an essential part to the tale. We follow an oddly paired detecting partnership formed by an enthusiastic youngster fresh from earth and a cynical older detective with a lifetime of experience on the Fuse. There are more than a few cop clichés but they are handled with a mixture of subtly and force where needed.

I enjoyed the plot from the outset; the speed with the way the characters are introduced along with their interplay feels familiar but not stale. The interplay between our two leads is fun and when mixed with the seriousness of their jobs you get the feeling of a natural partnership that is in its infancy.

Artistically this is a strong issue; the main players are always a stronger colour than the backgrounds making them pop off of the page. It gives the reader a sense of what’s important. It’s nice to see backgrounds handled this way instead of being completely ignored.

Overall this is a strong first Issue and I will be continuing with the story for the issues to come. The creative team seem to be in sync and I hope the page duo get the chance to explore their relationship as time goes on.
To Catch up with spoiler filled art from the first Six pages of The Mercenary Sea #1  check out our gallery. Warning there will be spoilers so be prepared to be spoiled.

For a little more detecting you could try

Sherlock Holmes; Moriarty Lives #1

Every great Detective needs an arch rival and Moriarty is the Prince of all Nemesis.
Lobster Johnson; Get the Lobster #1

A mix of Detective work with just a smidge of violence. Our Lobster is more than capable of filling the void left once the Fuse has been read.
The Comic is available in both print and digital from Image comics. Follow this link for more details.
Images courtesy of Image Comics
Comic - Provided by Publisher