Written By: Jeff Lemire
Art By: Andrea Sorrentino
Published By: Image
I’m getting to a point where Jeff Lemire’s extraordinary talent is making me angry. Like, come on dude, don’t horde it all, okay? Between him and Donnie Cates there’s barely enough left to go around. You can be the best current comic book writer without showing off so damn much, ya dig? Or, to put it another way: Gideon Falls #1 is pretty amazing.
The story is complicated and character focused, as are most Lemire stories. It starts off with a man rummaging through trash in a distorted, hazy city. It looks like a dystopia, or some place wracked with nuclear fallout. It isn’t though, and that’s where things get interesting. Because this isn’t a book with any big twists, just a few characters with their own view of Gideon Falls. There are hints of the supernatural–and given that it’s a Lemire book we’ll certainly get supernatural–but right now, it’s just hard enough to tell what’s real and what isn’t that the potential seems endless.
Character is what sells the package, and I like our two protagonists. One is collecting trash and putting it in jars with names and dates. He’s captivating. The other is a priest sent to a town he doesn’t want to be apart of. He’s also captivating.
To jump mediums for a bit, I’m reminded of Stephen King. These are very King characters, interesting and flawed in small-town ways, and the supernatural hints seem like they could spiral into something terrifying. Gideon Falls might as well be Derry.
As someone who loves Stephen King, this pleases me greatly.
On the art front, Andrea Sorrentino is the perfect companion to Lemire. His range is massive, capable of showing the same town in two very different lights. The opening pages are mostly silent and gritty looking, like the whole place might be haunted or barely real at all. Jump to the priest, and the place looks…mundane, boring. Maybe a bit empty. He doesn’t want to be here, and the art oozes his feelings.
The panel layout is also fantastic, especially the opening pages. They’re so damn visceral and spooky.
Jeff Lemire is a goddamned comic book treasure and we should be real happy he’s alive and writing. Gideon Falls #1 is off to a great start, or for Lemire, just another Wednesday in a bibliography filled with amazing Wednesdays.
