Writer: Francesco Francavilla
Artist: Francesco Francavilla

Every now and then a book comes along that you need to stop and pay attention to. Black Beetle is one of those books. Set in a timeless noir setting reminiscent of the pulp books of old, Francavilla uses a more modern way of storytelling to create a fast paced crime thriller. With a style similar to what Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips have been doing with Incognito and Fatale, Francavilla puts his own spin on a pulp book with gorgeous art and splash pages that require (at least) a second look!

The story follows our hero, Black Beetle, who it seems would fit in with the likes of The Spider, Doc Savage and The Shadow just as much as he would be right at home in the Justice League. Francavilla’s character design does seem to blur the lines between the old and the new, with a mix between a tech savvy Ted Kord Blue Beetle, and the detective smarts of The Shadow.

The Hardback collects #0 and #1-4, and while the zero issue is a nice “done-in-one” that gives a nice intro to BB, the world and the overall tone of the book, the story really hits it’s stride with the first issue. While it is a short arc, Francavilla has created something great here with such a high calibre of work, dynamic layouts (it sounds stupid to say, but the pages really do look awesome!), and amazing writing rounding out the full package. The book is just going to be out in time for the *cough* Festive season, and it’s the perfect book for fans of Fracavilla’s work, Pulp, or really just anything that is good.

Rating: 9.5/10.

The writer of this piece was: Chris Bennett
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