Video Noire
Story:
Art:

Written by Carlos Trillo
Art by Eduardo Risso

Published by Dark Horse/Venture
Price: $9.95

My Verdict: Eh.

A detective is found horribly murdered after he successfully completed a peep job, spying on the host of a children's TV show. He managed to get some...not-so-nice pics of the young lady involved in all manner of depraved weird acts. When his compatriot tries to pick up the trail and find out what happened, he runs into shapeshifters, demonic children, and an androgynous person who seems to know what's going on. But that's just the beginning of the weirdness.

Originally published in Europe by Strip Art Features, the reason this thing caught my eye in Previews was because it's drawn by Risso, the kickass artguy on 100 Bullets. I figure, hey, with that art and a naked demonic woman on the cover--it's gotta have something going for it, right? Well, I can tell you it has good art. Risso's stuff in black and white is just as tasty as it is in color. He consistently uses angles, shading and character expression to get across even the craziest of points.

Unfortunately, the art can't carry the book. The story meanders along for ninety-three pages with story elements that either just don't mesh, aren't explained, or don't make any sense--or some combination of all three. And they all seem to be cobbled together from scads of Outer Limits and Twilight Zone episodes. It felt, to me at least, like "if I throw enough stuff in here, they won't notice it's unoriginal." To make matters worse, when what's really going on behind the scenes comes to light, just at the end, it's a very tired concept that doesn't make the trip getting there worthwhile.

Fans of Risso's work should check in, but only if they have $10 to burn. Everyone else, borrow somebody else's copy.