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Revelations #1
"A Fall From Grace"
Review posted: 05 Sept 2005
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Artist: Humberto Ramos
Letters: Comicraft's Richard Starkings
Colors: Leonardo Olea
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
2.00 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Matt Yocum
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Imagine your reaction at seeing a large, beautifully tiled mosaic
of Mickey Mouse gracing the entrance to Walt Disney World. Or think
of an ornate stained glass window image of Shaggy from Scooby
Doo adorning Hanna Barbara Land. That was my reaction to the
cover of Dark Horse Comics’ Revelations #1. Beautiful,
but unnecessary.
Someone murders priest William Richleau in Vatican City, and
chain-smoking Scotland Yard detective Charlie Northern is brought in
to investigate. The story bounces from the Vatican murder scene to an
apartment in London to the catacombs of the Vatican and finally back
to the murder site. Charlie’s work is cut out for him with a
cleaned and flower-strewn crime scene, an unhelpful Vatican, and hints
of supernatural forces at work.
The pages are pretty, the colors
chameleon-like to the settings… the book is beautiful but
unnecessary.
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My first problem with the book is artist Humberto Ramos. He is
simply not right for this title. I appreciate the time he spent
developing a new, intricately detailed cross-hatching style while
adhering to his roots. But this is not the book for him.
There’s a cartoony quality with Ramos, and this story calls for
darkness and shadows. It needs Jae Lee’s moodiness, not
Ramos’ grown-up Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes) look. It takes
a great deal of faith to believe detective Charlie Northern is a
45
year old chain-smoking, hard-nosed detective.
Revelations came with some degree of hype. Wizard
magazine conducted a Paul Jenkins interview, and numerous black and
white preview copies were sent to elicit feedback for a letters page
in issue 1. I’ve enjoyed his writing, discovering his inspired
work in Marvel’s 12-part Inhumans a number of years ago. I
again followed him through his creatively marketed and well-written
Sentry stories for Marvel. And although merely passable, I picked up
his run on Spectacular Spider-Man. Jenkins’ work here is less
than passable. The story is slow, spreading into twenty-two pages what could
have taken half that space. From the title to the themes,
Revelations aspires to heights it simply didn’t reach.
Hype surrounding this book built up the belief that its religious
themes might be controversial, that its theology might ruffle some
feathers. I found nothing of the sort. I’ve seen all this in
Dan Brown’s novels Angels & Demons and The Da
Vinci Code. Murdered priests, secret gatherings, dark secrets in
the Vatican. You even find an indirect homage to The Da Vinci
Code as Charlie’s priest brother in the comic mentions the
nonfiction work Holy Blood, Holy Grail, the inspiration for Dan
Brown’s bestseller. Unless you’re offended by a secular
cop swearing and wishing to smoke a cigarette in the Vatican, I
can’t see much to generate controversy that hasn’t already
been stirred up in the last few years.
The pages are pretty, the colors chameleon-like to the settings.
Again, the book is beautiful but unnecessary. Calvin is now all grown
up, smokes cigarettes, swears, and speaks with a British accent. This
comic sent me to my bookshelf to read the adventures of the younger
Calvin and his fun with Hobbes.
Comments about my comments? Feel free to email me at feedback@comiccritique.com. Keep it clean and keep it comics.
—CCdC— Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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