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The Escapists #1
Book Released: 12 July 2006
Review posted: 14 July 2006
Writer: Brian K. Vaughn
Artist: Philip Bond
Artist: Eduardo Barreto (Golden Age Sequence)
Publisher: Dark Horse
5.00 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Adam White
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Brian K. Vaughn — the mastermind behind such great books as Swamp Thing (the Tefe series), Runaways,
and Y - The Last Man — brings us another innovative masterpiece in The Escapists, based on the world
created by Michael Chabon in his Pulitzer-prize winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Oftentimes
when one author plays in another author’s sandbox, so to speak, things go horribly wrong; Vaughn avoids such
circumstances by using original characters and putting an interesting spin on his approach to the story. Combined with great
art, The Escapists serves up a unique comicbook experience that takes place firmly in Chabon’s world,
Vaughn’s world, and the real world all at once.
Vaughn knows exactly what he’s doing, again taking on a new project completely different from his other current
work so as to show his range
If the creators alone haven’t sold you on The Escapists, then there’s something
wrong with you and you have no business reading comicbooks.
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and keep his work fresh. Vaughn wisely creates new characters, comicbook
creators that decide to pick up the adventures of The Escapist and start their own series. However, rather than producing a
meta-textual in-joke about working on someone else’s creations, Vaughn gives each character a fun personality and makes
the story survive on its own merits, meaning that you need know nothing of what has come before to enjoy this series.
Vaughn’s Escapists is funny, dramatic, and engrossing, a mixture of attributes crucial to all timeless work.
The next coup for this issue is the art from Philip Bond — I love this guy’s work! From his covers for the
vastly underappreciated Deadenders to his work with Vertigo Pop, Bond has an immediately identifiable style
that speaks to me, saying “this is definitely cool.”
I honestly cannot describe what exactly about Bond’s work connects with me — it just does, which is often the case when
trying to describe your very favorite creators. As if bringing Bond on board wasn’t enough, Eduardo Barreto provides a
Golden Age Escapist sequence for the book. Barreto is another one of those artists that is so good he reveals the colossal
ineptitude of the many “hot” pretenders littering today’s comicbook landscape. Top these guys off with a
cover from Frank Miller and a back cover by Brian Bolland (!), and you have yourselves a winner.
If the creators alone haven’t sold you on The Escapists, then there’s something wrong with you and you
have no business reading comicbooks. The only downside to this series is that it appears it’s only six issues long,
which makes me very sad because I thought it was an ongoing. I could go on all day about this series, but the bottom line is
this: Just go get it and see for yourself.
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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