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Occult Crimes Taskforce #1
Book Released: 06 July 2006
Review posted: 10 July 2006
Writer: David Atchison, Rosario Dawson
Artist: Tony Shasteen
Publisher: 12 Gauge Comics/Image
5.00 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Adam White
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When I first read that Rosario Dawson was involved in a comicbook project I thought it was interesting but didn’t
honestly think a whole lot of it. Occult Crimes Taskforce was first set to be published by Speakeasy, but then
Speakeasy Crossgened out and OCT moved to Image (probably better for them in the long run). I still hadn’t
thought much about it until HeroesCon 2006, where I met the team behind the series at the 12 Gauge booth — the preview
book I picked up there combined with the enthusiastic Dawson, Atchison, and Shasteen sold me on the book and I eagerly
awaited its release the next week.
The story conceived by Dawson and Atchison puts a nice spin on an interesting historical fact (the purchase of Manhattan
island from Native Americans), one that I’m now surprised no one ever thought to do anything
The characters all have their own backstories that you get a sense of without being bogged down
with exposition.
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with before. While the first issue is afflicted a little with “first issue-itis” (lag from introducing the world
and characters), the concept behind it is so strong that it more than makes up for any temporary lag in the set-up. The
writing team has definitely done the research and world-building necessary for a new series, as the characters all have their
own backstories that you get a sense of without being bogged down with exposition. The various ideas in the series, from the
creatures to the badges, all serve a specific purpose and don’t suffer from the generic, pointless magic concepts that
plague so many books that deal with the occult. Dawson and Atchison have put the time in to make this series worthwhile, and they
will only get better as time goes by.
In main character Sophia Ortiz, Tony Shasteen has not only captured Rosario Dawson’s likeness but her personality
as well. Shasteen has a hyper-realistic style that makes you feel like you’re watching a movie, and
In Sophia Ortiz, Tony Shasteen has not only captured Rosario Dawson’s likeness but her
personality as well.
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the grainy quality of the color adds infinitely to the effect — each panel looks like a clean frame from a film stock
shot through a grainy filter, adding a literal and metaphorical layer of dark, horrific haze over top of the shinier
“real world.” The OCT badges not only look very cool, but have the bonus of actually being a functional part of
each officer’s arsenal. Shasteen has put as much thought into the look of the book as the writers have into the
story, which is always a good sign that a series will get better with each issue.
Occult Crimes Taskforce #1 also has a backup feature that includes text and images from the OCT Handbook Ortiz
receives in #1, thus imparting that information without using valuable time in the story to do so. It’s the
little bit extra like the Handbook pages that gets me into a series because it shows forethought and design as opposed to the
1990s-style “let’s do it because it looks cool.” OCT has a lot of potential as an ongoing concept
and I look forward to where it takes us. Ortiz is an interesting protagonist and serves as a great “everyman”
character to introduce us to her world, which is a necessity in any book dealing with the supernatural. I also hope they
continue having backup features like the Handbook, but I’ll know for certain next month because I’m sticking with
this series, so you need to give it a shot as well.
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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