Editor's Note: Foolkiller: White Angels #1 arrives in stores Wednesday, July 16.

This first issue of Foolkiller takes the perspective of a man who will not be the central character of the story beyond these 32 pages. I know because the perspective switches to Mike Trace, the Foolkiller, about two-thirds in.

The first bit of the story is about a man who finally finishes his five years in prison. He's gone clean, served his time justly and come out a better man than when he went in. He isn't welcomed at home, but still he perseveres. He winds up with a job, and that's when things turn to crap. The White Angels come in and decide to pick on this poor man because he's black.

That's the tone this book takes; it's racially injected. Only twenty pages in and this sucker already feels like it's going to have me thinking about some realistic problems with every issue. Foolkiller been called a crime book, and so far it plays a bit deeper than that. See, Mike Trace's job as the Foolkiller is to take down those who feel untouchable. And that group in this issue is none other than the ignorant, white-supremacists that plague America today.

Perhaps that's a bit too much personal insight in a review, but that's where this book is going to take you. Be prepared to look back about half way through, close your mouth, and then start reading again.

The art so far is a little too gritty and nonspecific for my liking. I'm sure others will find it quite striking, but for now I just haven't found a way to let it settle into my taste. I felt the same way about DMZ at first, but that art grew on me swiftly and this may follow suit. The faces all seem muddled, and I had some trouble identifying characters quickly. I had to second guess myself a few times, check their clothing, check their hair, knowing who they were was never immediate.

But perhaps there are some great images that come with the style as well. In the preview pages below, there is a scene where one of the main characters is standing with his personal effects on the outside of a prison door. That, to me, is a cool scene. There's another brutal moment just over half way into the book (I won't ruin it but you'll know it when you see it) that had me hovering over the page for a few seconds. That's the good stuff, and I hope there are more intense moments like that in the series. If there are going to be, then the art will hold up just fine.

Overall, Foolkiller: White Angels #1 is a great start to something that could be incredible. It's charged, filled with emotion, and Greg Hurwitz is well suited for the medium. The book will make you set it down and step back for a few seconds as you finish up with it, and that's what makes comics wonderful: that moment of thought that fills the time as you finish. I look forward to this series with high hopes, and only time will tell how it delivers.

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