Advance Review: The Misplaced Chapter 1 (of 4)
What is your Paradise? It might be the kind of thing that you book a day off for; sitting around reading comic books all day or playing video games non-stop, or watching your favourite show episode after episode after episode. It might even be something a little out of the ordinary like “living” in a place where the Miami Dolphins beat the Patriots every week! For those who have actually used a vaccay day for reading, you know that after a while it can get kind of dull. This is the kind of situation that Chris Callahan’s main character, James find himself in this new book from Source Point Press.
Following a ship wreck, James finds himself in a heavenly Paradise. Problem is, al a The Matrix, all this happiness is actually causing James quite a lot of misery. Part of it is the insipid existence where everything he wants can be granted with one exception. The spirit of his wife has been “misplaced”. What follows is a nicely served piece of observational discussion that far transcends the comic book media. What is Paradise? How does love fit into it? Why can’t people just be happy? These questions lay the challenge for James as he sets out on his quest to find what he believes he really needs.
Chris Callahan, a television graphic designer who also won the Aspen Comics Talent Hunt, provides both writing and the art under the purview of art director Joshua Werner. Looking at the writing first, Callahan openly challenges the preconception’s of Heaven. Maybe not a new idea, but here Callahan focuses on the setup that James is in the good place. There are obvious references in play that feed into this idea. The story develops through the first issue, shoring up the key points and setting the quest elements into place. At times, James seems a tad unappreciative of his lot in after-life, though he becomes sympathetic to the reader when his motives become clear. After all, what would you do for love?
The art is menage of styles incorporating a number of different methods including photo collage, digital painting, 3D models, and traditional painting. Under less creative hands, this could give the book a messy look, yet Callahan manages to bring out the best out of each medium whilst minimising their respective flaws. There may be elements that seem disjointed, but remember we are talking about the theological realm of Paradise; there are not a lot of reference books to work from! The colors are dark as is the tone of the book, though this in no way decreases the enjoyment.
The idea of the book seems quite simple, however, there may actually be more to it than you think. Sure, James’ wife may not be where he is, but could it be that he himself has been misplaced? Could it be that doing the same things over and over could actually be hell? Only time will tell. As it stands, Callahan has set himself an ambitious task, both in writing and art, where the reader’s perceptions are challenged almost as much at the lead characters.
Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Overall – 5 Stars
Written & Art by; Chris Callahan
Published by Source Point Press
The Misplaced Chapter 1 is in shops November 20th
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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