Chin Music #1
An officer who dabbles with the occult, a tortured soul seeking for help, demons running amok, mobsters & monsters oh my. Welcome to Chin Music ya mooks!
The story is simple and shifts from past to present and is a little confusing at times. One minute characters are in a specific setting, the next they’re in a completely different one. For example : after a character suffers terrible injuries from demons or evil spirits, we clearly see that he’s in ancient Egypt and then he crawls to what appears to be either Las Vegas or prohibition era Chicago. Based on the gangsters with tommy guns, looks like Chicago, but then again I don’t think Chicago has deserts.
The protagonist is officer Ness, it’s not clear if it’s the Elliot Ness, but since Al Capone or Scarface makes an appearance, we’ll assume it’s him. Ness has more on his plate then the mafia, the first page shows him carving weird occult like markings on the tip of his bullets, so clearly those are not for the mob. This first issue doesn’t offer a lot of answers, so hopefully we’ll get more answers in future issues. What it lacks in story it certainly makes up in illustrations. Tony Harris has always stunned me with his style of pencilling, although I’m not a fan of Starman, his illustrations were always top notch and up until right now, Ex Machina was some of the best work he’s done. With Chin Music, he’s on fire. Close ups of characters, attention to the smallest of details and some of the coolest and most psychedelic panels you’ve ever laid your eyes on. The colours are vivid and the shadows are all in the right places.
The Team
Written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre, Lot 13) and illustrated by Tony Harris (Ex Machina, Starman). Published by Image Comics.The Pros & Cons
I’ve mixed feelings about this first issue, first off, it’s a very quick read and that’s never a good sign. Then I realized a zoomed way too fast and re-read it just to admire the illustrations I missed the first time. Written by Steve Niles, Niles is a comic book horror master, his characters from comics like 30 Days of Night, Transfusion & Criminal Macabre are some of the most flawed and twisted characters you’ve ever read, some good others evil, but all of them possess the blackest of hearts, hell some of them don’t even have hearts.The story is simple and shifts from past to present and is a little confusing at times. One minute characters are in a specific setting, the next they’re in a completely different one. For example : after a character suffers terrible injuries from demons or evil spirits, we clearly see that he’s in ancient Egypt and then he crawls to what appears to be either Las Vegas or prohibition era Chicago. Based on the gangsters with tommy guns, looks like Chicago, but then again I don’t think Chicago has deserts.
The protagonist is officer Ness, it’s not clear if it’s the Elliot Ness, but since Al Capone or Scarface makes an appearance, we’ll assume it’s him. Ness has more on his plate then the mafia, the first page shows him carving weird occult like markings on the tip of his bullets, so clearly those are not for the mob. This first issue doesn’t offer a lot of answers, so hopefully we’ll get more answers in future issues. What it lacks in story it certainly makes up in illustrations. Tony Harris has always stunned me with his style of pencilling, although I’m not a fan of Starman, his illustrations were always top notch and up until right now, Ex Machina was some of the best work he’s done. With Chin Music, he’s on fire. Close ups of characters, attention to the smallest of details and some of the coolest and most psychedelic panels you’ve ever laid your eyes on. The colours are vivid and the shadows are all in the right places.
The Outcome
This first issue didn’t quite have the punch and tug it needed to pull me right in. Looks great, but something’s missing. It’s like a greasy pizza, it’ll fill you up, but you’re missing the nutrients your body needs. Here’s hoping that’ll change with more issueA Look Inside
