Review: Grim Leaper #1

Ty's Review:
Grim Leaper is basically a tale of life and death, Wiebe has created a unique story that is focused around death and rebirth and manages to not go completely dark or irreverent. The story has whimsy and the art is fantastic.

We follow the misadventures of Lou, as he introduces us to his situation and the events that are his existence.
The thing is Lou is just a joe everybody, a normal guy. He just has one difference from the rest of the world, or so it seems, Lou has a penchant for death and in turn rebirth. The first issue is kind of great, I loved the way the tale is being told. In this instance I love the utilization of meta-reference, Lou is just calmly explaining his situation to the reader keeping things light and enjoyable even if the content is grim as the title suggests. This obviously shows the skill of Wiebe and I can’t wait to see where this story goes, a love story like none told before.

The art is lovely, Santos has created a graphic, moody scene and the traversing from panel to panel plays nicely with the content of the book. My favorite part of the book has to be the colors, they’re quite fetching. I think each scene is perfectly set, the tone and expression of the characters with the story is great. This team works great together and once again Image Comics has surprised me with an unconventional, but great book.

There is a B-Story included in this issue and it is almost as good as the main plot. It works really well with the main story as it does have a grim end. The art is gritty and the story charming. It feels like an old time love story, with a twist. Often these additions are throw aways but “Drive Time Commute” was quite enjoyable and plays well with the theme, Esposito and Mccomsey did a great job.

This book has a lot of stuff going on both in story and content. It is certainly a new take on a slightly controversial subject and I think it was done nicely. The writing is fun, and the art is amazing and while this may not be a book for all I do think some are going to love it. Another great miniseries from Image Comics.



Steve's review:
Lou has been to his own funeral thirteen times now, yes thirteen times how is that possible you might wonder well that is well that is what this series is about so we’ll be learning together.  What I do know is he jumps from body to body, when one dies he gets into another and each of these bodies seems to have an incredibly short shelf life.
 
So far it’s pretty charming and concept is darn good as well.  The execution of this book is spot on, the dialogue is wonderful the pacing is excellent and the enjoy-ability factor is off the charts.  It took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on but then that is one of the things that I liked the most.  Nothing was cut and dried clear for the reader so you got sucked into the story before you realized it.  That kind of writing talent is pretty rare in my opinion.  We still haven’t gotten any real answers and I’m fine with that because he’s got me wanting more and I’ll be back to see what happens.
 
Once we figured things out about Lou and his situation, the second half of the story was even better than the first.  I liked that no matter which body he inhabits he heads for his local bar, the same bar every time.  The small details like finding comfort at his favorite bar are things that really tend to stand out and make this more enjoyable. 
 
Also finding a kindred spirit as well as a possible girlfriend who is experiencing the same thing was a rather nice twist.  I am looking forward to seeing how this relationship continues as well as the series.  So far I really like this it was surprising how good it was.
 
The second story here however for me personally was a complete waste of time and space.  I am not really into sappy love stories and this was kind of weird and stupid.  Whoever thought this one was a good idea should be fired.  Romance comics in this day and age marketed towards men doesn’t work and that is plain to see.
 
Regardless of the back-up story this is worth a look see for the main story alone.  It’s innovative, fun, fresh and a little different all things I tend to enjoy.  Plus Wiebe’s skill really blew me away.