Kim & Kim #1

Writer: Mags Visaggio
Art: Eva Cabrera
Colors: Claudia Aguirre
Letters: Zakk Saam
Publisher: Black Mask Studios

Black Mask keeps its streak of great books going with Kim & Kim #1. The book's main characters are Kim Q. and Kim D., two bounty hunters in space who used to work for a larger organization recently broke out on their own and are dealing with the pressures of.. independent bounty hunter life?

Well, that's the gist of it but Kim & Kim takes place in what feels like a really expansive universe and Mags Visaggio is really good at easing the readers into this strange world where the octopus-people dwell while keeping the book moving forward. The book goes through its beats very quickly and effectively, avoiding boring exposition scenes. As with 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, this book has some very funny moments. Visaggio has a real knack for humour, and she references everything from The Seventh Seal to Weezer. The highlight of the book is that the Kims feel like real friends. We're coming into a universe where characters have complex relationships and it comes across every time we get to see the Kims talk to each other.

I also really liked the character design on this book, from Kim Q smashing a guitar over a bunch of people to Kim D's big-ass pink rifle to their Volkswagen van/space-ship. Aside from helping the book stand out, all of those things really reinforce the feeling of jumping into a lived-in universe.Of course Kim Q fights people with an electric guitar, why wouldn't she?

Eva Cabrera's art is truly amazing and her paneling gives the book a sense of dynamism. Her and Claudia Aguirre create some really detailed backgrounds. I really enjoyed their incredibly vivid version of space and how colorful the book is in general, but I felt it was hard processing the book when it had so much stuff going on sometimes. That being said, overall the art really impressed me. Not a lot of print books have as many solid tones as this one, and it's a style that I enjoy. Reading this made me happier.

Kim & Kim #1 is a great first issue. I want to know more about these characters and this universe as much as I want to see more of Cabrera and Aguirre's joyously colorful art. I was excited to read this book based on how fun it looked and it amply met my expectations. Definitely excited to read the next chapters of this book.