Battle of Buttercup Lane has quite the ring to it.
Creative Staff:
Story: James Robinson
Art: Tom Feister
Colors: David Curiel
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
As the heat comes down on Mac and Mabel, the star-crossed lovers must learn to work together to escape the long arm of the local law and expose the corruption in town…if they can stay alive.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Grand Passion has delivered far too much fun for me over the first three issues in what it presented. Robinson and Feister hit some great notes with the split story that converged and then the face off between Mac and Mabel the last time around that turned into a sexual frenzy that worked far better than it should have. There’s a Hollywood bent to what’s going on but at the same time it acknowledges that these things don’t play out like they do in the movies. As fun as the story and the characters are, however, what’s helping elevate it to something truly special is Feisters artwork with Curiel’s color work. This just comes together in a hugely powerful and engaging way, especially when dealing with as many dark colors as we get here. It’s so cinematic at times and full of punch and vibrancy that I can’t get enough of it from the cover to the last panel.
With all the fun that the two have had, discovering the passion that truly is grand between them, Mac and Mabel are now facing the arrival of the local police department, seemingly in full, that’s ready to kill him in order to deal with their recent losses. It’s not a bad plan but they’re going in without scouting things properly since they don’t know Mabel is in there. And Mabel, smart cookie that she is, brought everything in when she came into the house – and that includes her explosives. The dynamic between the two as they talk about what they need to do, and his realization that he does have something to live for now, is pretty spot on. Especially when she says that they really should get dressed so they can deal with what’s coming instead of all this talking while naked, which just left me laughing because it had a weird kind of honest about it.
When they action gets underway it’s pretty chaotic, which is about as I expected. For the most part it’s easy enough to follow things and enjoy the craziness of it all but it does turn a little confusing toward the end when the pair are confronted with seemingly no way out and it just turns into a whole lot of bullets flying. Watching as these two work their particular magic and skill is pretty engaging, especially with Mac sort of grappling with killing cops considering he was just one, but there’s a drive and a “passion” to it now that he’s aligned with Mabel. And while she’s certainly enjoying it, it’s not presented in a kind of over the top Natural Born Killers kind of way. There’s a high and adrenaline surge underway that she’s taking advantage of and it makes for some pretty compelling moments, especially when she takes a hit and it pushes him even further into doing what needs done.
In Summary:
Grand Passion got me hooked early on but it cemented itself quickly with the second issue as something to really be passionate about. It’s easy enough wordplay but there’s something really fun and compelling here. Yeah, it’s mostly just what you’d get with a two-hour TV movie at best or something stylish as a ninety-minute feature from an up and coming director, but when presented in comics form it’s something that feels different enough and has a strong design to it that lets it work. Mac and Mabel are an absolute blast to watch here and the story simply clicks wonderfully. I can’t get enough of this and hope that they make it out and have another adventure in the future already. I want more of this couple in the making in a big way.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: March 29th, 207
MSRP: $3.99
