The Remnant #1 (of 4) (Boom! – Cosby / Monroe / Baldwin /Tedesco)
Actor Stephen Baldwin and writer Andrew Cosby (creator of Sci-Fi Channel’s EUREKA) unleash THE REMNANT at BOOM! Studios! When natural disasters erupt around the world and people start to vanish, C.I.A. agent David Sacker is pulled into a dangerous mystery that will challenge everything he knows about reality. Featuring sensational interior art by hot newcomer artist Julian Totino Tedesco! Cover by Paul Azaceta.
Presently, the comic landscape is riddled with books and projects that are either thought up or written by an actor / celebrity. The usual rule of thumb on these projects is that the publishing company knew how bad they were going to be, so they attached someone’s name to it in the hope that the book would sell on that name alone.
While Stephen has always been my favorite Baldwin also, I had thought that would be the case with Boom!’s The Remnant. And at least with the first issue, I was 180 degrees wrong!
The Remnant is a fast-paced, conspiracy-driven, action-drama that snags the reader right away. David Sacker is a government agent with military ties that has his world turned-upside down right after he was in the middle of a supposed terrorist attack. He starts seeing mysterious figures out of the corner of his eyes, he knows he is being followed, he gets attacked at home… and, oh yea, his significantly younger newlywed wife is blamed for the explosion that almost killed him. The intro to the book talks about this being a supernatural thriller, this was a not a theme in the first issue, but I can see that piece coming.
The story telling is very well-done. We are drawn into David Sacker’s plight while also getting snippits from secondary players without having full disclosure on how they fit into what is in store for the main character. The pacing is good, the tension builds and the reader is left wanting more! To be honest, this reads like a really good action TV show. It isn’t really surprising, given that the uber-talented, writing veteran Andrew Cosby is part of this team.
Julian Tedesco’s shadow-abundant art that is a combination of excellent pencil sketches and heavy-lined form meets and exceeds standards for a new independent title. Tedesco, who is a relative newcomer to the mainstream comic scene, hits the mark squarely. You can see some of his work here at his blogsite, my opinion is that we will be seeing a lot more of him in the years to come.
Bottom line: This book is nothing less than solid fun!
Issue Grade: A
