Written By: Kurtis Wiebe
Art by: Mindy Lee
Color Art by: Leonardo Oler & Andy Cotnam

Dark Horse Comics, $3.99

It’s rare that I really go into a book completely sight unseen. Usually, even if I wasn’t aware of the title coming out, I’ll have some connection to the creators, or maybe the world the title takes place in. This week, however, I jumped head first into a book I knew absolutely nothing about, short of the writer’s name. That said, I haven’t read any of Wiebe’s stuff before. With Bounty, I had a rare moment of total obliviousness, and I’m still trying to figure out my exact feelings on the book.

This book follows the adventures/missions of Nina and Georgie in the far technologically advanced future, who start off the story “anti corporate criminals” but end up as bounty hunters, as the title of the book would tell you. Georgie appears to have some type of special abilities, whether through her herself or augmented by technology, which is shown in full force when her sister’s life is in danger. This issue was interesting for a first issue. At first, it really felt like we were thrust into a story midway, but as we hop around in time a little, it’s clear that Wiebe merely used that instance to give us a bit of character building; establishing the sibling relationship which will seemingly be the focal point for the book. As the book rounds off the cast of main characters with Alan, Nina’s boyfriend, and Vivian, we’re given a team to get behind. What I really enjoyed about this issue, which I don’t see all that often in more mainstream number 1 books, was that while there were plot threads to grasp for going forward, this issue was all about establishing relationships. Wiebe does that very well here. It’s even more surprising to me, in that this type of story of quippy, fairly young and almost teen like anti establishment heroes almost never resonates with me. While the book is really not for me, the craft is very clearly on the script and plot end, and I’m glad I gave this book a chance.

While the story surprised me, the art started off on a bad note. To be honest, it has nothing to do with Mindy Lee at all, as I just have as hard time connecting with this style of art. It’s very clean, very manga inspired. That said, much like I said (tweak this a bit try not to use too many of the same words together) with Wiebe’s script, I can’t ignore the craft. Lee, even under a style I usually find myself confusing characters with, designs all of the characters to be unique and ultra expressive. The “cartoony” style is so clear in its storytelling, that it adds an extra layer to the words on the page; which is exactly what you want in comic art. That said, the coloring on this book was a struggle to get through. The photoshop or just overall effects of the coloring muddy the line work, and at times, in an attempt to give the book a futuristic feel in the palette, actually is too bright. There’s certainly a base under all the effects that would do the line work well, it just needs a quarter of the detail noodling. In a comic landscape where we are discovering excellent coloring in a “less is more” mentality, this is the direct opposite. I found myself conflicted with the art page to page; the pencil and inks were a pleasant surprise, but the colors were far too distracting.

For a book that had a lot going against it in terms of my tastes, Bounty was full of nice surprises. With the introduction of what looks to be a main antagonist (with a striking resemblance to a character from Saga) at the end of the issue, I would recommend this book if any of the story points I gave above strike you.

 

3 Emoji Faces out of 5