ZeroKiller #2

Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Arvid Nelson

Artist: Matt Camp

Colors: Dave Stewart

Any given Sunday in rural Idaho.

Rocket-powered grenades, guns, helicopters, and even pointy objects…this is exactly the kind of thing that keeps my attention. Yes, kids, attention deficit disorder* can work for you.

In ZeroKiller #2, Arvid Nelson takes his new series in an enticing direction. Fresh off last issue’s mission, post-apocalyptic bounty-hunter and erstwhile hero Zero allows the defenseless Stark to accompany him home. A helicopter carrying an important sample (of something hazardous, probably twinkie filling) is shot down and crashes into the Twin Towers. Two government agents from JOCOM (the junta that controls the United States) accost Zero and order him to locate the missing sample. One of the agents looks remarkably like Patrick Ewing.

ZeroKiller remains interesting, and #2 offers a challenge to writer Arvid Nelson. Is Nelson bringing JOCOM into the storyline too early? Zero (and the rest of New York) sees them as mysterious and far-off, and the reader also is largely in the dark about this shadowy organization. Nelson could have easily kept them out of picture for longer, keeping them a complete enigma. Laying his cards on the table like this shows guts, and here’s hoping issue #3 takes as many risks.

Matt Camp’s talent for subtle facial expressions makes ZeroKiller slick and professional. His meticulous detail makes the half-underwater world of post-war New York believable. His only weakness is drawing the body in motion. Maybe it’s the lack of speed lines, but the fights in issue #1 and #2 feel torpid. He draws other forms of movement well--there’s a frightening scene where a helicopter crashes--just not people.

Has Dave Stewart ever done anything not fantastic? Look at early, pre-Stewart Hellboy, and then at Hellboy once Stewart got there. His work made an excellent comic phenomenal. Likewise, the diagonal shadows and contemplative twilight Stewart colors makes Zero’s New York into a collection of distinct realities, and not just another setting.

Worth the money? Definitely, if you’re following the series. If you’re new to ZeroKiller, check it out in the store and see if it piques your interest.

*Mine, not Arvid’s.