If I saw Jeremiah Cooper at the Phantom of the Attic, the book would probably remain on the racks. I'm simply not big on comic books that lack capes and cowls, and you'll not find a mask among the cast of Jeremiah Cooper.

The people at Reliant Publishing sent me a copy of this title and I had doubts as soon as I opened the package. Nevertheless, I started reading the story and I was impressed.

The title character Jeremiah Cooper is a black man from Georgia, in a time of segregation. He's the son of a preacher man--cue Dusty. His father would like him to go into the family business. Jeremiah would prefer to teach history. In addition, Jeremiah is in love with a white girl named Lila and Lila's father is an abusive bigot.

I've read and seen dramas with interracial romances at their cores. I've often tried to avoid them because I prefer escapist entertainment. The conflict did not draw me into the pages. The naked strength in the writing is what kept me reading.

Devin Bridgewater's choice of words and pacing creates a slow, Southern drawl that lends authenticity to the characters. Through an enviable execution, he distinguishes them from archetypes presented in similar scenes.

Jeremiah's father wishes that his son would join the ministry, but he's neither pushy nor volatile. Jeremiah Cooper's aims are hardly lofty. His desire to educate is noble and attainable. Jeremiah's mother is a stabilizing factor, but there's less to smooth. Underplayed clashes such as this one develop a surer footing for the story.

Bridgewater characterizes Jeremiah as multi-faceted. We experience his home life. We observe his love life, and he has an eye for beauty, evinced in moments where he looks into the sky and sees the painted clouds evoked by a setting sun.

The full color art by Jon Stanicek appeals with a strong visual narrative and acrylic aesthetic. Backdrops manifest natural settings and period detail marks a small town frozen in a particular era.

Stanicek designs the characters with an eye for body movement and interaction. He makes certain the reader sees what Jeremiah sees in Lila. These characters, however, do not look perfect and how I feel about that splits me down the middle. The traditionalist in me thinks that the faces sometimes would have benefited from stronger scale and proportion, but then I wonder if honing the art would actually damage the verisimilitude of the tale. No matter. You get the impression of cinematographer or storyboard artist at work and the emotions of the characters emanate from the pages.

The bad news is that Jeremiah Cooper costs five dollars, but if you are buyer who appreciates the comic book medium as a storytelling format, and you don't mind if your dramas lacking flowing cloaks and raging fists, then this may be the book for you.

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