Touching Evil #1, by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopsis | @MDWorld
April 21, 2013 Marc Fishman 0 Comments
Written and Drawn by Dan Dougherty, Colors by Wesley Wong
I have come to relish the independent scene recently. It is because of books like Revival, Nowhere Men, Clone, and now Touching Evil. And while Dan Dougherty’s book may not sit right between Image imprints on shelf somewhere (yet), it could easily do so and no one would be the wiser. Dougherty’s macabre tale is a bit mystery, a bit horror, and a bit character-driven drama that jumps out of the gate with a big story to tell. In 30 or so pages, we are left with a book that stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the best genre-hopping indie books being put out today. While Marvel and DC flip and flop about with their capes, cowls, reboots, and crossovers… The other guys are exploring what comics can really become.
For those who don’t know him, Dan Dougherty is a Chicago-based cartoonist; A former coffee-slinger turned full-time artist bouncing between his ‘Beardo’ comic strip, and more serious fiction. ‘Touching Evil’ is the first chapter of what stands to be at very least a mini-series, telling the tale of a magic curse, and those surrounded by it. But I’m getting way ahead of myself. To pitch this book is nearly a disservice to the quality it hides within its pages. Odd I know, but follow me on this one.
As Dan described it on his facebook page: “An ancient spell that has been locked away for decades is about to be cast back out into the world. The bearer of this spell is granted immortality, and kill anyone with a mere touch of the hand… provided that the person is evil. Why would anyone want to give up such a spell? And what is evil? Some call it power. Some call it a curse. We call our story… Touching Evil.”
Upon initial read of that alone, I was afraid there was simply too much to absorb. Spells, immortality, morality, good vs. evil, etc. But to flip through the book itself, most of tepidness dissipated as Dougherty’s tale is laid out. A tip of the cap to Dan’s scripting, which is brilliantly paced. We are introduced to our small cast in dribs and drabs. We bounce between our heroine, Ada, a single mother just trying to make it in this crazy world… and the mysterious prison holding the curse within its walls. By end of the last page, so much has occurred plot wise, it’s a testament that none of it feels rushed. Scenes are quite ‘by-the-book’; we enter a beat after we should, and leave right before the natural end. It keeps things moving, and leaves lasting impressions as things unfold.
It must be noted that the book shares more than one bout of deja vu if you’re reading Revival. Much like Tim Seeley and Mike Norton’s magnum opus of Wisconsin, Touching Evil has a distinctly Midwestern noir feeling to it all. Characters are bred with backstories and unique (if a bit hammy) voices. Thanks in large part to the clean art—which I’ll get to momentarily—there’s a uniqueness to everyone physically as well. Dougherty gives us characters who are decidedly ‘shades of gray’, while playing with the ideology of disseminating the world into black and white. It’s a coy move that wasn’t lost on me… and one I relish, simply because it’s one the mainstream bucks against. Nothing like writing up for your audience for a change.
Artistically speaking, Dougherty and Wong must sit in the alleyway behind Four Star Studios. With a clean line informed by Dan’s longstanding cartooning career, the book itself takes his own house-style and makes attempts to darken things up a few degrees. Much like Mike Norton, Dougherty’s figures are realistically proportioned, easy to identify, and surrounded by beautifully rendered backgrounds. Recently I’ve become increasingly aware of artists who take the time to really stage their scenes. As Touching Evil bounces between late-night law offices, and solemn prisons… the artwork is unafraid to pull the camera back a bit to let in the world around itself. Combine the clean lines with Wong’s palates of earth tones, and you get a book that lives in the real world. And with few to no actual ‘special effects’ on the pages themselves, the art holds its own without any visual crutches. In the day and age of the motion blur? It’s refreshing.
If I were to be critical (and face it, this column ain’t called ‘Snarky Synopsis’ just because I like alliteration), there’s a few places where things do stumble. Lettering gets far too close to their housed bubbles in several areas. A few of the figures are a bit stiff. Some of the dialogue delivered falls flat. Dougherty’s characters all share a not-quite Kevin Smith level of wit about them. After a while, characters voices tend to bleed into one another. Towards the end of the book, there’s a bit of an info-dump loaded onto Ada’s shoulders. Things become very preachy very fast, and in an instant, the book shifts trajectory a bit predictably. In addition, the book does rigidly stay in-panel… and because of it, the big impacts that happen in the story itself (a murder or two or ten) tend to feel anti-climatic. Would it have killed Dan to break a panel boarder to make a splash page? Probably not. But maybe I’m jaded by too many bells and whistles used elsewhere. I doubt it though.
Ultimately, Touching Evil is a solid first chapter to what I hope to be a good long run. Next to kin like Revival (without sharing really any similarities aside from tonality), the book shows off how indie books can draw outside the lines of predictability… even if Dan keeps everyone inside the frames. For the money, you can’t get more story crammed in a single issue. Any minor quibbles aside, this is easily the best story I’ve read from the ‘Beardo’ imprint. For anyone interested in noir, character drama, and people getting their comeuppance…for those with a taste for blood? Touching Evil is a bracing shot of good whiskey. Cheers to evil, everyone!
For those interested in picking the book up, you can purchase a copy online at http://www.beardocomics.con.