Thomas Alsop #4
Boom! Studios
Words: Chris Miskiewicz
Pictures: Palle Schmidt
So why have all those souls been trapped at Ground Zero since 9/11? That’s the question going into this issue, and we get to delve into Thomas’ past to get the answer. Kudos to Chris Miskiewicz for actually giving us an answer.
What? I’m not going to give you the answer here. You’re going to have to read it, because it’s worth your time. I can tell you there are a bunch of moments in this issue that I really like. When Emma starts a bar fight just because. Martin’s weird vision during their set that freaked him out. When Martin thinks Emma and Thomas are going to have sex and he’s going to be the odd man out. These scenes seem so natural and feel real and right. And then seeing the trapped souls again just floating in the towers; so creepy yet so cool. I am just really digging the way Chris has taken a National tragedy (ok, digging a National tragedy seems like an odd turn of the phrase, but stay with me on this one) and is weaving magic and music and pop culture into a story that is compelling and makes you ask, “Yeah, what if…?”
And as cool as Thomas Alsop is, and he is definitely cool (rock star, podcast host, paranormal superstar, and The Hand of the Island), he’s not perfect. And Chris isn’t afraid to show the lumpy, less cool sides; the more selfish and shallow sides of his main character. And he does it all without whining or rationalizing.
Palle Schmidts art lends itself well to the almost sloppy nature that Thomas exudes. Not that his art is sloppy by any means, but it has some roughness to it that compliments the mood and emotion that this narrative is oozing. Thomas has a personality that is like a tumbler of booze on the rocks, where the booze is just a bit too much for the glass and some of it inevitably gets splashed over the sides. Somehow, the spillage makes the drink that much more appealing. So is Palles’ art. It’s not quite in the lines and it works because of that.
4.2 out of 5 Tumblers of Booze
