Advance Review: ‘The Tin Can Society’ #1 Presents Something New
by Benjamin Hall
Summary
The murder of Johnny Moore is stunning the world. Not just due to his fame as a tech mogul, but cause of his fame as the superhero Caliburn. Yet, no one is feeling things more than the former members of The Tin Can Society. Can Moore’s former friends find out who the murderer is when it may be one of them?
Overall
9.8/10Writer Peter Warren creates a relatively new take on a superhero murder mystery. Yes, various aspects of the script fall into either the category of cliché or trope, but they all see utilization in expert ways. Warren establishes the world and the cast — including the disability of one of the leads — in a slow way. He does so by first introducing the main lead plus the murder of the other protagonist and then builds from there. There is also just enough monologuing and dialogue to give readers information that the art can only suggest. Meaning that Warren is very good at relying on artist Francesco Mobili and colorist Chris Chuckry to convey their part of the narrative. Yet, there is one bit of sequencing where some better stage direction, or a small amount of dialogue, could greatly help the telling.
Mobili and Chuckry do great work on both the main cover and the interiors. Mobili keeps the designs consistent while also displaying differing people and ages in realistic ways. Also the combination of the pair’s styles helps create a dreamy quality to some of the flashbacks. Arguably this is due more to Chuckry’s selection and application of hues. Though without the clean draftsmanship of Mobili’s art, Chuckry would have only a beautiful palette to please consumers with. It is also worth mentioning that Mobili does an excellent job drawing feet, even when bare.
There is no creative credit revealing who is lettering this series in the review copy the publisher, Image Comics, is giving out. However, the lettering style fits nicely with the visuals and writing.
Artist Bengal creates a nice enough design for cover B. A large amount of negative space exists that assists with creating a sense of depth.
Cover C is by artist Yanick Paquette who does a nice job evoking 1980s movies like The Goonies (1985). Chuckry provides the colors for this variant and they make Paquette’s art feel slightly similar to the interiors by Mobili.
The Tin Can Society #1 comes out on September 18th.
