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Aug 09, 2010 Web Exclusive By Jeremy Nisen

Matt Kindt certainly knows how to set a mood; he did it in the sometimes kitschy, sometimes goofy, sometimes vicious, and always cool, Super Spy; he certainly did it in the often-haunting 3 Story. In Revolver, and original graphic novel from Vertigo, he’s again masterfully setting a scene and making poignant commentary. This time, his primary device is the juxtaposition of two lives being led by Sam.

This isn’t a euphemism—Sam lives in a world very much like our own about half the time, but when the clock strikes 11:11, he’s transported to an alternate reality where America’s been hit by disaster spawned of avian flu and a dirty bomb, and the populace must deal with the fallout and failure of infrastructure. One day, fighting with his boss, listening to his girlfriend talk about furnishings; the next day, driving with his boss (with whom he gets along with much better post-disaster) to seek gas, answers, and a better life.

The trick is since the divergence point between these realities wasn’t so long ago, all the information he can gather in one is useful in the other. Maps and such, certainly, but cleverly used when he uses information from the “post-disaster” version of his boss to blackmail the bitchy, normal world version. These plot elements just scratch the surface of the twists, turns, and flat-out emotional resonance that Kindt packs the book with.

Kindt’s art is wonderful—lots of blacks, a heavy line, very stylized cartooning-more realistic, though, than his stuff in Super Spy. His clever sense of design kicks in, taking a turn for the mirthful by incorporating the page numbering into the story as a “news crawl.” The coloring adds to the immersion, as the “normal” world is black, white, and beige-tone, while the more dangerous world is depicted in black, white, and a blue tone.

Personally, I’m always value-conscious, so recommending a $25 book, even at about 200 pages, does not come easily. But recommend it I will. Neat premise, excellent execution, dripping with character and raising the kinds of questions we ask ourselves daily, it satisfies on every level and thus is the best comic I’ve read this year. (www.dccomics.com/vertigo)

(Also check out Under the Radar‘s interview with Matt Kindt from last fall: www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/matt_kindt/)

Author rating: 9/10