Orphaned heiress Ellen Page moonlights as Domino Lady, dispensing her own brand of justice and taking on the criminal underworld as she seeks retribution for her father’s murder.

Two different stories. Two different artists. Which leaves me of two different minds about Domino Lady #1.

The first story, “Blooded,” has Domino Lady teaming up with police detective Morgan “Mad Dog” Vernia and Sherlock Holmes to:

• Track down the stolen Jade Dragon statue
• Rescue a kidnapped girl
• Keep rival Chinese mobsters from starting a gang war, and
• Keep the city from being flooded with bad drugs.

Writer Nancy Holder bit off a bit more than she could chew in this story. Or to put it another way, there’s way too much going on in these sixteen pages. The inclusion of Sherlock Holmes is interesting, but not really necessary. He basically adds clutter to an already crowded storyline.

The scenes are short, cutting quickly to the next event. Characters appear and disappear without warning or purpose. There’s one flashback panel that I think is supposed to illustrate the kind of thing Domino Lady does and the impish delight she takes in doing it, but it was distracting, not illuminating. It had nothing to do with the main storyline. I found it difficult to keep track of what was going on.

Illustrator Danny Sempere has a good sense of composition. His backgrounds are detailed without crowding the action. In general, his close-ups are good, though his disguised Holmes is just...ugh! There’s something about the way the face is put together. It just doesn’t fit right. Also he inks it far too heavily – a mistake he doesn’t make anywhere else.

In the book’s second feature, “Orange Blossom Murders,” Ellen crosses paths with an old flame while investigating a friend of her late father’s. This opening chapter works much better than “Blooded.” Holder takes her time developing this story, giving readers a sense of what drives Ellen here, by using elements from her past and present. She sets up some interesting relationships between the characters and scripts sharp snappy banter for the scene featuring Domino Lady and the reporter Rackers.

Leeahd Goldberg brings a different look to this section of the book. The panels are more open, with less detail. There’s also less of an emphasis on the characters’ faces. Goldberg pulls back from the action, distancing the reader, which allows him to gain more perspective on the events.

Domino Lady #1 is a mixed bag, but there’s enough to like about it for me to suggest fans of pulp noir check it out.

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