|
 | Concrete: Depths Paul Chadwick Dark Horse Books, 208pp  If you don't know much about comics (neither do I, but don't tell anyone) and are just reading this because you know every word of this magazine is pure gold, you may harbour some pretty basic assumptions. You may think, for example, they all feature brightly coloured characters called Captain Exceptional beating up deformed villains. If so, Paul Chadwick's intelligent 'Concrete' will come as quite a surprise.Subtitled as a collection of 'Classic and little-seen stories from the legendary Concrete series', 'Depths' can be a little confusing at first as it throws you right into story. The eponymous character is a large man who appears to be made of almost featureless stone. He's something of a celebrity, and the story doing the rounds is that he's a cyborg created by the American government, which turns out to be a cover for something much stranger. A few stories in you discover the truth, and Chadwick drops a few hints in his introduction, but you can start off feeling like you've missed something. Concrete is an immensely likeable character, jovial and charming but at the same time understandably withdrawn. He wants to use his incredibly sturdy body "to dare great things" but his attempts fail disastrously (and publicly), while the excessive media campaign centred around him, for reasons that cleverly tie to his origin, make him an annoying fad. A normal life is also denied him; his rocky exterior prevents him feeling human contact, and, as is mentioned more than once, he lacks some standard male features. Concrete is not the only character though, and he has some equally likeable friends; the lovely yet slightly oblivious Dr. Maureen Vonnegut, and his loyal, occasionally goofy aide Larry. Chadwick's elegantly simple black-and-white artwork combines with his often-adventurous page layouts (not all successful; an entire page of tiny frames showing Concrete swimming is a little tedious) to create a distinctive look for the comic. Concrete in particular is beautifully drawn, and it's amazing how expressive he is for a character with virtually no facial features. The writing is clever, quirky, even moving at times, though some of it - characters' thought bubbles in particular - tends towards clunky exposition. The stories cover a wide range, from the heroic to the mundane, and are not all equally effective; 'Straight in the Eye' and 'Sympathy from a Devil' seem kind of pointless. 'Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous', on the other hand, is an incidental but hilarious vignette. A man made of concrete might sound like a pretty standard comic concept, but this collection of quirky, touching, human stories is anything but standard. To see how well it all works, of course, you have to read it yourself.  | |
The latest issue available now!     |
All content copyright dB Magazine