Review – Going to the Chapel #1 (Action Lab)

Publisher: Action Lab Danger Zone
Writer: David Pepose
Artist: Gavin Guidry
Colours: Liz Kramer
Lettering: Ariana Maher/Colin Bell
Release Date: 4^th September 2019

Emily Anderson’s wedding day is a complete disaster… and then a gang of Elvis themed bank robbers turn up to really throw a spanner in the works. The combination of a high pressure hostage situation, a dysfunctional family, a dogged sheriff and a bride with cold feet is going to make for a hell of a day to remember.

First impressions, this is a lot of fun! Going To The Chapel is a fun blend of heist story and romantic comedy with quite a lot of plot threads for us to pull on already, and it looks like it’s definitely going to be one to watch.

Reading this first issue, my mind immediately went to True Romance, Reservoir Dogs, the opening of Kill Bill and, for some reason, Raising Arizona. This is a very Tarantino kind of story, but it’s got a lighter, more humorous tone to it that works well. This first issue has just the right balance of exposition and progression to keep it moving in the right direction. I think it’s going to be a series with a fair amount of flashbacks in it but the team seems to have the pace just right.

My favourite character so far is one who actually gets very little page time in this issue. The Sheriff looks like he’s going to be a cross between Michael Parks and Sam Elliott and that’s a combination that makes me really happy. The twist in the story for this issue was, I felt, telegraphed a little early but on the whole, it’s a minor distraction in a thoroughly enjoyable book.

Visually this is also great fun. The characters are quirky and believable in the way they’re introduced to us on the page. Emily’s family are oddball, embarrassing and overbearing – basically the perfect representation of a real family on a wedding day. The fact that this family is incredibly rich is almost incidental.

I mentioned True Romance at the beginning of the review and I can definitely see Tom and Emily taking to the road like Clarence and Alabama with the police hot on their heels and, I’m assuming, an interested party looking to recover a certain piece of jewellery that may or may not be in their possession.

I really enjoyed this as a first issue. I think there’s lots of ways this could go, and they all look like they’d be a fun journey to be on. Go grab a copy off the shelf, and I think you’ll have a fun ride too.

Rating: 3.5/5.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK]