Created and Written by Terrance Grace
Art and Color by Silvio DB
Additional Color by Anderson Cabral
Lettering by Terrance Grace
I have to start this review with a little personal story I feel adds to the review. First off I backed issue two’s Kickstarter so I’m financially invested in this franchise, but the second thing is what I feel gets to the heart of the indie comic community. My house was robbed mid November 2015 not long after The Locksmith Kickstarter was successful and the worthless thieves got my computer. I lost a ton from that computer, so much stuff I can’t even start to rattle it all off, but along with that computer they got my PDF’s of The Locksmith one and two. I was pretty devastated but after the smoke started to clear I messaged creator and writer Terrance Grace on Kickstarter and asked if he would send me another copy. I know this doesn’t sound so grandiose but it truly was. Grace didn’t just send me the PDF’s again he chatted with me and was genuinely concerned about everything and I feel that that is something that is unique to the indie comic world. I’m not trying to talk trash on the big companies, I’m sure Geoff Johns is super cool guy, but if I told him I had my house robbed and lost my issue of Batman #45 I don’t think he would even be able to send me a copy unless he bought it himself and mailed it to me, and the chances of that are probably few and far between. I would like to thank Terrance Grace for everything and I truly appreciated the effort he showed, it really brightened my day in a dark time.
Well now that that is out of the way let me get to the books. Both issues are part of the first arc and flow together seamlessly. I wouldn’t expect anything less. The first book is a solid introduction to the world and the main protagonist, Mick Fagan, because it slowly and subtly works us into him. There is no abrupt history that jumps into the character’s life, Grace gives us a little glimpse of the world and a taste of the mystery before he introduces us to Mick. Not to say the intro doesn’t show a piece of Mick’s life, it just isn’t in the forefront. Without spoilers I can say that the noir style fits well within Mick’s world and the hints to the supernatural are not over the top and left me wanting to see more. It’s a slow burn that gradually gets hotter as I went from issue one to two. It’s a lovely writing style and story that kept me intrigued from start to finish. You better believe that I’m giving to issue three’s Kickstarter; when it comes out.
The art from DB is more realistic looking, versus cartoon, and really helps the noir style. I almost feel like the art style is a noir style but truthfully I’m not educated enough to say that. The feel of the art is is all over the board but not haphazard, it sets the tone of each panel with the true way the story has set it out. Every dark scene and shadowy look is perfectly done and the characters move along with the backgrounds to combine into that noir style. Clearly DB understands the idea behind The Locksmith and I feel he brought it to life in a way that not many artists could have.
As I said, I’m waiting for issue three to get ready for the Kickstarter and will be pledging again. If you feel like The Locksmith is something for you then you can check them out on Comixology or in the store on their website.
