He is... THE LAW!
Brodie’s Law
And so we come to review the 6 part mini-series produced by Pulp Theatre Entertainment, who were the two polite fellas I met at the London Film and Comic Con, just over a week ago.
The story as quoted by the Pulp Theatre site:
“The story revolves around Jack Brodie, an East London thief with a temper and attitude, who possesses the power to "suck your soul dry" by stealing a person's thoughts and identity before returning it tainted with his own evil deeds. Framed for a murder he did not commit, Brodie embarks on a thrilling non-stop mission to find his kidnapped son.”
That concept sounds familiar doesn’t it? And that’s one of the prevailing feelings you’ll get throughout the series, one of déjà vu. It seems like a concept straight out of a 90s American adventure TV series. However the comic does explore the concept in some interesting ways. Jack picks up the thoughts and feelings of those he absorbs, and eventually they all merge like a psychic cocktail inside his skull, each flavour vying for control. At one point he absorbs his wife’s killer, as part of his plan, but finds himself conflicted. On one hand he’s grieving her death and on the other he’s aroused by the memories of killing her. It’s a concept which has also been explored in Kathryn Bigelow’s film Strange Days, where a rapist shares his feelings and emotions with his victim as he rapes her. Later on in the series, Brodie absorbs the DNA of a female lawyer who is sexually attracted to the man ultimately for his wife’s death. Jack finds himself about to have sex with this man. This sequence is handled maturely, no last-minute bouts of homophobia to “free” Jack.
Of course it can be argued that the science displayed is more than a little dodgy. It argues that by absorbing someone’s DNA, Jack can able to access their memories, but for the most part I’m able to suspend my disbelief.
The downside of the writing is the pacing of the series overall. This six-issue miniseries is clearly modelled on the formula for a pilot of a TV show. Therefore the 1st two issues are a standard crime/thriller story, with the sci-fi/fantastic elements of the story relegated to McGuffin-status, as the character’s chase after this mystery disc containing an all-important formula. Issue 3 rushes through the sci-fi set-up/hook, explaining the concept through lengthy expository dialogue, developing the technology and the formula, using it on Brodie and then Brodie absorbing his first batch of DNA. After the slow build-up of the 1st two issues, issue three appears rushed. The last three issues hurtle through the action and violence as Jack attempts to save his son and bring down the men who “done ‘im wrong!” The ending itself seems to be directly from Sam Raimi’s Darkman but leaves the fate’s of these characters up in the air. The effect of this is similar to watching a pilot show where the last ten minutes of the show have been taped over. The abrupt ending short-changes the supporting characters of the book, especially Brodie’s son, whose fate we’ve been expected to care about for the past 5 issues.
The art combines animation-cel style pencils with muddy inks, which suits the tone and world of the story. Only occasionally does the art fail to convey the story, leaving the reader confused and taking him/her out of the action. But the art does give the book a strong visual identity, unlike anything else on the shelves at the moment.
Overall the book has a lot of potential for exploring the concept but also the strong supporting characters and their relationships with Brodie. The pacing issues may be resolved if read in a collected format rather than in individual issues. If I see any further miniseries I will definitely take another look.
And so we come to review the 6 part mini-series produced by Pulp Theatre Entertainment, who were the two polite fellas I met at the London Film and Comic Con, just over a week ago.
The story as quoted by the Pulp Theatre site:
“The story revolves around Jack Brodie, an East London thief with a temper and attitude, who possesses the power to "suck your soul dry" by stealing a person's thoughts and identity before returning it tainted with his own evil deeds. Framed for a murder he did not commit, Brodie embarks on a thrilling non-stop mission to find his kidnapped son.”
That concept sounds familiar doesn’t it? And that’s one of the prevailing feelings you’ll get throughout the series, one of déjà vu. It seems like a concept straight out of a 90s American adventure TV series. However the comic does explore the concept in some interesting ways. Jack picks up the thoughts and feelings of those he absorbs, and eventually they all merge like a psychic cocktail inside his skull, each flavour vying for control. At one point he absorbs his wife’s killer, as part of his plan, but finds himself conflicted. On one hand he’s grieving her death and on the other he’s aroused by the memories of killing her. It’s a concept which has also been explored in Kathryn Bigelow’s film Strange Days, where a rapist shares his feelings and emotions with his victim as he rapes her. Later on in the series, Brodie absorbs the DNA of a female lawyer who is sexually attracted to the man ultimately for his wife’s death. Jack finds himself about to have sex with this man. This sequence is handled maturely, no last-minute bouts of homophobia to “free” Jack.
Of course it can be argued that the science displayed is more than a little dodgy. It argues that by absorbing someone’s DNA, Jack can able to access their memories, but for the most part I’m able to suspend my disbelief.
The downside of the writing is the pacing of the series overall. This six-issue miniseries is clearly modelled on the formula for a pilot of a TV show. Therefore the 1st two issues are a standard crime/thriller story, with the sci-fi/fantastic elements of the story relegated to McGuffin-status, as the character’s chase after this mystery disc containing an all-important formula. Issue 3 rushes through the sci-fi set-up/hook, explaining the concept through lengthy expository dialogue, developing the technology and the formula, using it on Brodie and then Brodie absorbing his first batch of DNA. After the slow build-up of the 1st two issues, issue three appears rushed. The last three issues hurtle through the action and violence as Jack attempts to save his son and bring down the men who “done ‘im wrong!” The ending itself seems to be directly from Sam Raimi’s Darkman but leaves the fate’s of these characters up in the air. The effect of this is similar to watching a pilot show where the last ten minutes of the show have been taped over. The abrupt ending short-changes the supporting characters of the book, especially Brodie’s son, whose fate we’ve been expected to care about for the past 5 issues.
The art combines animation-cel style pencils with muddy inks, which suits the tone and world of the story. Only occasionally does the art fail to convey the story, leaving the reader confused and taking him/her out of the action. But the art does give the book a strong visual identity, unlike anything else on the shelves at the moment.
Overall the book has a lot of potential for exploring the concept but also the strong supporting characters and their relationships with Brodie. The pacing issues may be resolved if read in a collected format rather than in individual issues. If I see any further miniseries I will definitely take another look.
posted by James Plumb at 1:23 pm
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