THE ELECTRIC SUBLIME by W. Maxwell Prince & Martin Morazzo Comic Reivew
A review of the art centric comic; THE ELECTRIC SUBLIME Volume 1, written by W. Maxwell Prince with art by Martin Morazzo. (Hopefully) No major spoilers.
If someone had told me a month ago (well any amount of time really) that I would read a book with a character named Manny the mannequin I would've definitely asked for the book straight away without any further questions. Thankfully this week I read The Electric Sublime Volume 1 and if successfully fulfilled that need.
The Electric Sublime is about the famed "art detective" Arthur Brut as he is pulled out of a mental institution by the Director of the Bureau of Artistic Intergrity, Margot Breslin to investigate the mysterious change in the composition of a famous painting....
..And that is about as detailed as I can get without majorly spoiling it (aside from the earlier mention of Manny)
The Electric Sublime is created by author W. Maxwell Prince, writer of Judas: The Last Days and with art by Martin Morazzo, artist on The Great Pacific, Snowfall and published by IDW.
IDW has a good history when it comes to producing independent creator-owned series and this is no different.
The Electric Sublime is a great start but it's only a start, it does a great job of introducing us to this interesting world but it's like dipping your toe into a pool, it's good but it'd be better if you could go swimming. And this is where I had trouble with The Electric Sublime. By the fourth and final issue of the series I had felt like the series was just beginning yet the mini series abruptly finds an end with a fairly action packed final issue but an undeserved one. Although this is my only real issue with the series, it's kind of a big. The solution to the case feels odd and unconnected to the larger arc that the series is leaning towards. However, the book ends with a cliff-hanger that promises only to up the insanity of the first volume.
That's (probably) that only really negative thing I found about this comic. As for the good stuff the art is beautiful, Martin Morazzo does a great job of balancing the plain real-world with the creatively intense world of the paintings. The Colourist, Mat Lopes, does an even better job of amplifying Morazzos art through the use of the colours, as he plays with both the real world dull muted colours and the vibrant colours of impressionist paintings.
W. Maxwell Prince brings to life a eccentric group of characters, with the stand out definitely being the main character Arthur Brut who manages to be a surprisingly consistent character as he goes in between sanity and insanity. But it would be hard to fault any of the side characters either, with Margot Breslin being a strong female detective and possibly my favourite for what I hope are obvious reasons, Manny.
Overall The Electric Sublime is a fun, interesting start to what is looking like a promising series. I would definitely recommend picking this up if you're looking for something a little bit quirky.
1 out of 2.
- Antony