Writer: Richard Starkings
Artists: Moritat and Ladronn
Publisher: Image Comics
I’m firmly sold on this book, there’s no doubt about it. I have a few questions to answer before proclaiming this title truly great, but every time I sit down to read this book, I end up getting lost in imagination for a good length of time.
The questions we’ll get to in a minute; for now give me the opportunity to rave about the team that has crafted a world unlike most seen in comics today.
For an artist who not only pencils, but inks and colors as well on this near-monthly book, Moritat sure does know how to fill in the details of the futuristic society we are presented in Hip Flask’s pages. From details such as the signage on store fronts, the faux ads displayed everywhere, and the now famous iFrog that even has its own back up story, I am constantly surprised as to all the little Easter Eggs and humorous pieces added to the growing stories.
The item that struck me as most ingenious in issue #9 was the cursive fonts used to change the tone from the typical block font used throughout the book. I have seen bold and bold-italic used to create differentiation, but rarely do you see an entirely different font used in the same block to change it up.
What I am seeing as the strength of this book is the weaving of short, tightly written stories together…sometimes in the same issue. That brings me to the questions I have about the story. I’ve so read five issues of this series, and I’m still struggling to figure out where exactly this title is headed. I don’t mean that as any disrespect to Richard the Great, I think there just may be some readers out there who finish each issue scratching their heads. It took me until this issue to reach my time of ponderment. I asked myself a very simple question.
“What exactly am I reading a story about?”
Take this issue, for instance. It begins with an intro story about a trucker who isn’t exactly a looker but still has managed to garner the love of the waitress at his favorite eatery. After finishing his eggs and coffee, he heads off to another day on the road. Meanwhile, Hip is still recovering from his broken leg and struggling to get his daily groceries home. Along the way home, Flask and his two young helpers encounter the trucker just as he has a heart attack and loses control of his rig. In one of the coolest splash pages I’ve seen in a while, the Huge Hippo thrusts himself in front of the careening vehicle. The issue ends with a bright light flashing and Hip realizing he’s not going to make it home in time for dinner.
Again, this was a great demonstration of small stories woven together, but what does it tell? What does it have to do with the shootout Trench and the gang had in the previous issue? Since issue #7 was an interlude out of the story line, we have to go to issue #6 where a celebrity cross species couple deal with the troubles of society looking at them differently. These are great tales in of themselves, but what does it all mean?
Hopefully, this will be just a fleeting thought in my head when next issue comes out. Maybe I’m jumping the gun on Starkings and Co., and there has been a great plot being told unbeknownst to me. If so, I will be that more impressed. Much like when I learned that Grant Morrison had been telling a six-issue arc during the initial run of All Star Superman, the surprise would be awesome and create that more satisfying feeling for me as a reader. That’s why we all read comics anyway, isn’t it?
This is a beautifully made book in every facet. From the main story, the extras on the writers, artists and cover art that frequent every book, to the great flip-style back up story, I am excited each month this book comes out. If the stories end up being one-and-done’s, this title still garners that same jubilation. My hope is that I will be getting way more than I bargained for from our favorite letterer.
What did you think of this book?
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