FIVE SENSES
follows businessman Chad Bowman as he struggles to maintain his
corporate career and playboy lifestyle after witnessing a brutal
murder. Choosing to ignore what he saw because he'd rather not get
involved, he soon finds himself dragged deep into the
investigation.
His actions to
avoid being "bothered" by the police only serve to make matters
worse and the killer eventually takes an interest in his
selfishness.
First appearing
at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con, Viper Comics has also revealed a
mock trailer for the series. It was very well done (you can probably
find it up on their site or if you do a Youtube search) and it does
a fantastic job of defining what the story is all about.
Going into the
comic, it gets off to a bumpy start as the art style is a lot more
indie than what one would expect after viewing the video. It's not
as embellished and polished and at times appears a bit minimalistic,
but Justin Wayne does do a nice job of illustrating the story and
once things get moving he really hits his stride.
The only thing
I would have liked to have seen is more use of inks. Most of the
scenes, especially the backgrounds, looked too bright for the type
of comic this is. Meanwhile. other areas, like clothes, sheets and
drapes, are rendered incredibly well with a good deal of blacks. If
Wayne took what he was doing on the characters and apply that to the
surroundings it would be remarkable.
I have to say
that the story we are presented is an interesting concept. Jake
Black delivers an intriguing tale as the killer decides to strip
Chad of his senses because he lacks sensitivity toward those around
him. Again, the comic stumbles at the beginning as Black seems to
jump a little too fast at getting the setup out of the way. It does
settle down after the first meeting with the investigator and things
move in a natural flow from there on out but I think it would have
benefited from a slower intro.
Over the course
of the story, Chad is portrayed as a selfish man with no time for
anyone but himself. Surely, we can see where this story is headed as
most likely he will change his ways and find a spark of compassion
hiding somewhere inside. The entertaining part will be seeing how
Black and Wayne will get him to that point.
FIVE SENSES is
a unique tale that shows promise once things kick into gear. I think
it will be a book to keep an eye on as the story progresses.
