Writer: Bob Elinkas
Artists: David Hedgecock, Mike Kelleher
Publisher : AmazeInk/SLG
Coming from SLG is a new series with an innovative concept. 15 Minutes, as its name hints, is about the 15 minutes of fame everybody can get in his life. And the odds of it happening to you are that little bit higher when you live in a world filled with super-heroes.
Though the synopsis in Previews described it at containing two complete stories, you'll actually find three of them in this first issue. In "Return to Sender", the pathetic guy next door gets his own 15 minutes when the post delivers him a package he was not supposed to receive. In "Book covers", a boy believes his jailed father is a superhero victim of a conspiracy. The trouble is everyone around him says his dad is actually some kind of minor villain. When the father gets released, will the boy be proved right or wrong? In the last and shortest story, "Crashing in on fame", we get to discover how a bright green light at night earns a couple of rednecks their fifteen minutes of fame.
Let's quickly pass on the art because, really, there is not much to be told about it. It is very classical and quite competent, but nothing jaw-dropping. You can have a very good idea of it easily, as the cover art is pretty faithful to what's inside.
I'll be a little bit longer (and harsher) with the script. While I think the concept is terrific, its exploitation is clearly lacking. Except for the opener, "Return to sender", the stories don't manage to be both interesting and fitting the theme. "Return to sender" seems like the one which could define the concept and be its best ambassador. Well thought of and quite funny, it would be a clear winner if only it was slightly spicier. "Book covers" manages the extraordinary task of being both boring AND off-topic. I suppose it was meant to be more moving than funny, but it doesn't matter because it fails to draw either emotion. Though the final story definitely fits the concept, I failed to find any interest in it. Or to be more precise, it sounded mildly interesting as it developed but the conclusion is so pointless that, in the end, reading it is time well lost. OK, so my fifteen minutes of fame or yours will maybe not be more dramatic than these peasants', but at least we won't publish a comic from it.
My last grievance would be value for money : at $3.99 and 24 pages, it is priced well above average. This is partly compensated by the lack of any advertisements whatsoever, but it's still a lot of money for the quality you get.
All is not lost, though, as the great concept and format adopted (several short stories) means there is great room for improvement, both in term of storytelling and of dedication to the theme. I would recommend to keep an eye open for future issues. But you can safely pass this one.
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