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Writer: Joe Henderson
Artist: Lee Garbett
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What makes a good heist story? There have been plenty over the years and often they share a lot of similar qualities and traits. It is certainly one of the genres that brings with it a certain set of expectations. Yet, to stand out, you need to bring something new as well. Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett’s The Big Burn #1 tries to switch things up by adding the Devil into the Mix.
It starts rather normal. Owen and Carlie have the ultimate meet-cute when both try to rob the same bank at the same time. Their goals may be similar but their styles are very different. Owen is pure go with the flow letting the plan come to him, while Carlie is meticulous with her tactics. Oil and water do mix as they strike up a passionate relationship with one another. Using their complementary skills they go on a major crime spree that at first appears impossible to stop. Unfortunately, their luck eventually runs out as the police catch up with them. Seeing no way Owen makes a plea to sell his soul for freedom. Owen’s plea is heard by The Devil who is more than happy to make a deal.
Right away it is clear Lee Garbett’s art benefits greatly from the large format DSTLRY uses. Usually, I read everything in the digital format but I was glad to read this in physical form to completely soak in Garbett’s art. He utilizes a lot of oversized panels with widescreen framing giving the entire comic a cinematic feel. This issue was not full of action but when it occurred he made it count. A cliffside car chase stood out as one of the more impactful sequences in this issue. Splash pages gave all the different settings a very distinct sense of place. Heist stories often get their personality from their different locations. They expanded that idea as location also tied into identifying what becomes a pretty extensive group of characters.
As one would expect selling your soul brings with it a great deal of consequences, and they come rather quickly. Owen and Carlie are not the type of people to simply accept defeat so they begin planning in their own way to get their souls back. With all the forces against them though it may be too much for either of them to overcome. Perhaps getting some help from other soulless individuals could give them on leg up on the Prince
of Darkness.
I love the getting the team together trope. You often get it with the first issue of The Avengers or a Justice League book. Of course, heist stories are known to use that trope from time to time as well. That was easily my favorite part of this issue, especially with the wide range of characters that make up this team. Considering how much happens in this issue we only get small glimpses into who these characters are. As mentioned you got a general understanding of a person from what was surrounding them, but there is clearly much more story to tell. Looking forward to seeing more of who this team really is in upcoming issues.
As mentioned this was not an issue full of action, most of the drama and storytelling was done within character interactions. Garbett impressed me with his ability to render facial expressions and construct interesting characters. His skills have certainly evolved over the years. Not everything was a success as I was not a huge fan of the look of the Devil. He just appeared too plain and didn’t command attention the attention you would expect for a character of his ilk. Lee Loughridge’s colors were stellar and helped give this that world-hopping feel. Despite not loving the look of the Devil this version of Hell was well put together both in look and concept.
For a first issue, it gives you plenty of story. If you are a heist fan there’s a lot to like with this first issue. It feels familiar but not repetitive. The cast of characters has a lot of promise, and the supernatural element helps distinguish it from similar stories. So far that supernatural element has been a soft touch, which makes sense for an introductory issue. My hope is it will truly expand upon that as this story continues to make it a truly distinct story.
Overall: 7.5 out of 10
