Crazy Mary: Trinity

Digital Webbing
Writer: Michael Colbert
Pencils: J.K. Woodward, Federico Zumel and Carlos Borges

FC, 32 pgs w/ ads
$4.00 CAN / $3.99 US

A promising start
by Chad Boudreau

Crazy Mary is the creation of writer Michael Colbert. She's a bounty hunter that exists in a dystopian future similar to the ones seen in Blade Runner and Elephantmen. She's got long red hair, circular framed glasses and most importantly enhanced abilities thanks to a military experiment called Project Dragonfly. By all outward appearance she's normal, but she's tapped into something no one else is, something seemingly supernatural. She speaks to a small number of spectral entities and they tell her things.

It's all very obscure, but that's the way Crazy Mary is crafted in Crazy Mary: Trinity, a collection of three short comic stories. The first tells us that this is Crazy Mary and she's a soldier turned bounty hunter. There are also mentions of Project Dragonfly, but very little detail given. Like I said, it's all very obscure, but it's the right amount of a taste to get me intrigued about the character and her world.

The second tale, "Coffee and Dreams", initially made little sense to me. I thought it was a stand alone tale like the first, but in fact it is the first part of a continuing story. That continuation occurs in the third tale. As I started that one, the second immediately clicked.

In the second, Mary lifts a data crystal off a dead body after receiving a warning from one of her spectral advisors. The third, "Chase", picks up the tale some time later. Mary has been trying to learn more about the data crystal and the dead person, which has resulted in her being tailed by questionable folks.

"Chase" is a story of action whereas the other two focused on atmosphere and setting. I liked the first two better than the third, but the third does offer further insight into Mary's persona and her three spectral companions / advisors, which makes it a needed addition. I think part of my issue with "Chase" is that the illustrations by Federico Zumel are classic comic artwork and thus lacked the detail and atmosphere provided by J.K. Woodward's in the first and second stories. Fortunately, Colbert's writing maintains the same level of quality throughout, providing the necessary linkage between the three episodes.

Crazy Mary: Trinity isn't the first appearance of Crazy Mary. From what I can gather, she first appeared in an issue of Digital Webbing Presents, an anthology of sorts from creators frequenting digitalwebbing.com. I don't know what ground was covered in that issue, but Trinity certainly stands well on its own, though the end of "Chase" doesn't signal the end of the tale started in "Coffee and Dreams". This suggests more Crazy Mary is to come in the future, but the book offers no answers as to when or where that will happen.

Crazy Mary: Trinity is a slick piece of work, with high quality production values to boot. It introduces an intriguing, enigmatic character and a promising set of circumstances. I hope to see more.

3.5 of 5