Review – Slow Burn #1 (BOOM! Studios)

Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Ollie Masters
Artwork: Pierluigi Minotti
Colours: Alessandro Santoro
Lettering: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Release Date: 25th October 2023

On sale this week from BOOM! Studios, Slow Burn sees acclaimed writer Ollie Masters teaming up with rising star artist Pierluigi Minotti for a tightly-scripted crime thriller set in an all but abandoned mining town in central Pennsylvania. The story is based around an addict named Roxanne who, along with her partner Luke and his senile grandfather, find themselves on the run following a botched robbery which left Luke with a fairly serious gunshot wound and the trio in possession of an unexpectedly valuable bit 0f loot.

Masters, whose work I fell in love with back in 2016 with Snow Blind, does a typically stellar job of introducing the relatively small cast of characters without hitting us with unwieldy chunks of exposition, using this first issue t0 lay out all the pieces on the board in preparation for what’s to come. Flashbacks provide much-needed context for the events that are unfolding, but never overshadow the urgency of the here and now. Main protagonist Roxanne is a fairly familiar character trope, but Masters gives her enough in the way of intriguing quirks and endearing qualities to keep the reader invested.

Everything about this series is dark, from the characters and their motivations to the striking, shadow-heavy artwork from Minotti. There’s an impressively cinematic feel to the visuals, from the opening “‘montage” sequence that immediately reels the reader in with tantalizing snapshots which are gradually expanded upon throughout the issue. In true noir fashion, Minotti uses a lot of tight close-ups and emotive reaction shots to give the story a snappy pace, and Alessandro Santoro’s colours do a great job of underscoring the bleakness of the tale, while also differentiating between the aforementioned flashbacks and the present day.

The setting for the story is also really interesting, drawing heavily from the Centralia Mine Fire – an underground coal seam which ignited in 1962 and has been burning away, non-stop, ever since. The “decaying” ghost town vibe really helps to underscore the oppressive nature of the story, as does the implied stifling heat provided by it being set on top of what is pretty much a literal pressure cooker.

The final pages provide a little more insight into the events of the robbery itself, reveal the source of Luke’s possibly fatal gunshot wound, and leave us with a eye-widening cliffhanger to make us immediately want to tune in to the next “episode.” Smoothly delivered noir with a beating heart of emotion and an almost tangible tension, this is a new series that demands your attention.

Rating: 4.5/5.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]