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Rush City #1
Book Released: 19 July 2006
Review posted: 31 July 2006
Writer: Chuck Dixon
Artist: Timothy Green II
Colors: Jose Villarrubia
Publisher: DC Comics
2.00 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Matt Rawson
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I skipped over Rush City with my first pass of the rack,
dismissing it as yet another attempt of some company to jump onto the
crime-plus-cars genre that has been made popular by such insipid sources
as The Fast and the Furious. Also, I haven’t been following
Chuck Dixon’s work for a good many years, so that wasn’t a
huge selling point either. I honestly can’t tell you what made me
pick up this book, but a part of me wishes I had listened to my first
instincts and left it on the rack.
The story, although having a certain undertone of speed, moves way
too quickly and in the process the characters become nothing more
than
talking drawings. Right from the get-go the reader is dropped into the
action with absolutely no set-up. The bad guys are there as nothing more
than an obstacle for Diego “Rush” Zhao to punch, threaten,
and speed his way around. In fact, without looking back through the
book, I can’t even recall the names of any other character besides
Rush.
The setting of the story, for the vast majority of the issue, seems
to be set in a hard-boiled modern world, yet takes a turn toward
visceral science fiction quite unexpectedly — to say this was jarring
would be an understatement. Also, other than flashbacks indicating
Rush’s apparent connection to a little girl named Sam, no character
that appears in this book feels like he or she actually existed before the
time he/she first appears. There is a Rush City origin webcomic at RushCityComic.Com, but it
impressed me about as much as the printed issue.
The two positive notes for the book are the interior art by Timothy
Green II and Jose Villarrubia and the cover art by the
No character in Rush City feels like he or she actually existed before the
time he/she first appears.
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ever-talented
Jock. While the sense of speed brought forth through the writing only
makes the story seem jerky and choppy, Green’s artwork picks up the
slack. He has a fast-paced, hip style of clever angles and linework
that achieves the necessary feel for the book. Villarrubia’s
beautiful color work is yet another testament to him being among the greatest
colorists in the business.
The cover is pure Jock. I fell in love with Jock’s brand of design-oriented
action illustration on the sadly missed Vertigo series The
Losers and continue to keep up with his work. Although his cover
illustrations are great, and I’m sure they pay more, I would love
to see Jock back between the covers.
Bottom line: whereas the artwork and cover are great, if the story
falls through you don’t have much to stand on, as is the case with
Rush City. For this humble reader, the “rush” stops with issue one.
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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