Right off the bat, this is a cool read. Last Of The Independents is an original short-read Graphic Novel from Image.
I say ‘short-read’ because this book is a fairly fast book to get through. But that’s not to have anything against it; Last Of The Independents is impressive.
It leaves a lasting and blasting impression on you, the characters are memorable and ‘real’ enough. Believable, plausible.
Writer Matt Fraction (Hawkeye, Sex Criminals, The Invincible Iron Man, etc) fully admits that the ‘trope’ (cliche, idea, plot concept) is an old one: what if you committed a holdup and ended up stealing money from the Mob? Bad things will happen, bad indeed.
Indeed they do in Last Of… it’s three characters who plot and scheme and end up in deep doo-doo. But as with all concepts, even the supposedly ‘tired’ ones, if you make them new and interesting, well, they’re new, and they’re compelling and super-dramatic. Planes, plains, and pains.
Kieron Dwyer (LCD: Lowest Comic Denominator, Unpresidented, etc) takes the art on a fascinating journey that is close to my heart; draw fast. He essentially budgeted a certain amount of time to draw each page on a drawing pad, set a timer next to the drawing board, and drew. As a result, there are no ultra-realistic horses with ultra-realistic hoofs and nostrils. The guns are not extruded 3D objects rendered in full colour on RAID Arrays. It’s rough and ready, just like how you like them eggs. (Just printed in Black and yellow ochre, please.) The figures twist in space, contort to battle the underworld. Things blow up. The bad guys don’t waste time either: they want their money back from our three robbers.
There ya have it: a dastardly low-down team that takes what’s not theirs and end up kicking and screaming in battle, a creative team that gets the job done, and a fast clipping read that will elevate your pulse. All good, all recommended, and now back in print after a decade!
Last Of The Independents, Image, $17.99 This book is horizontal format: 10.1875” wide x 6.625″ high. Mature Readers
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