City of Dust #1 - #2 (of 5)

Radical Publishing
Writer: Steve Niles
Art: ZID, Garrie Gastonny & Brandon Chng

FC, 28 pgs w/ ads $2.99

A symptom of an ill industry
by Chad Boudreau

City of Dust: A Philip Khrome Story is a new miniseries from Radical Publishing, itself a relatively new publisher, one that is following a startling trend in the comics industry: creating comics for the purpose of securing a movie deal.

Comics made into movies are nothing new though until recently the material was almost exclusively coming from DC Comics and Marvel. Huge successes from those two publishers (think Spider-man, X-Men, Iron Man and Batman franchises) and more moderate yet still money making successes of movies made from lesser known publishers and creators, such as Wanted, has Hollywood strip mining the comics industry. It seems as if a comic is being optioned or a movie deal struck every week.

There exist now publishers that are in the business of making comics for the very purpose having them optioned and made into films. Comics for Hollywood are attractive because they are basically completed storyboards for movies-- Sin City and 300 are perfect examples of that. For the publishers and creators, Hollywood deals are attractive because it's a big money business.

What troubles me about this trend is that comics aren't being made to be enjoyed as comics. They are being made to sell an idea of a motion picture. Virgin Comics (now Liquid Comics), Platinum Studios, Radical Comics and even Marvel are in the comics-to-film business. If the creative eye is focused on making a comic that will adapt well into a movie then I feel the comic itself suffers. We readers are no longer being given comics. We are being given a piece of marketing.

The art in City of Dust: A Philip Khrome Story looks like production art for a feature film-- big and bold panels, lots of atmosphere, realistic looking characters, but surprisingly not a lot of detail going on in the background. The story unfolds in a future where the sun seemingly never shines, a metropolis where the poor, forgotten and criminal elements eke out a living at the ground level. There is a haze that permeates every panel and that reduces the depth of the visuals. The grandiose is hinted at but never delivered. The color palette is not rich-- everything is flat green, black and gray-which makes for an unappetizing meal for the eyes. This drab look for a drab future doesn't work well in City of Dust the comic.

What prevents me from dismissing this comic is the tale being told by Steve Niles. I read the first issue but it didn't grab me-- a cop in a not so distant future in which freedom of thought has been censored (books and religion are illegal, for instance) finds himself investigating a murder without a murderer, at the heart of which is a piece of children's literature. Meanwhile, creatures that seemingly originate from horror fiction (vampires and werewolves) are preying on the city's citizens.

The story doesn't get going until this here second issue. There is simply more storytelling occurring, giving needed substance to the characters and the story. Issue #2 is a lot less about the visuals and more about the tale itself.

I wish Radical Comics success, I really do. With DC and Marvel polluting the shelves with a roster of comics that basically tell one big story, and the manga craze in North America lessening and lessening with each passing month, there is a lot of opportunity for new voices to tell new stories within the comics industry. I really do wish the focus was making comics as comics and not as storyboards for movies, but I can't slight creators and publishers for going where the money is.

City of Dust and Radical Comics are not to blame for the current state of the comics industry. They are a symptom of an industry that has lost its way. With that said, City of Dust has turned into a decent read with its second issue thanks to strong storytelling by Steve Niles.

3 of 5