Review – Big Shoulders #1, currently funding on Kickstarter

July 3, 2024

1–2 minutes

Writer: John Dudley
Artist: Scott Gray
Colourist: Choudhury
Currently funding on Kickstarter until Friday 12th July (CLICK HERE)

As comic book tasters go, there’s an incredible amount of intrigue and eye-catching, flamboyant characters crammed into this ten-page preview for issue one of Big Shoulders, currently funding on Kickstarter. In fact, without the long-lived Greg’s narration throughout the teaser, it would arguably be difficult to work out just who the central protagonist is actually going to be, and which individuals are destined to act out a secondary role throughout this “Chicago-based fantasy” mini-series; “I’m standin’ at another crossroads today. I’ve givin’ this kid my best “wise old man” grin…”

Foremost of these hooks has to be the aforementioned caveman, who these days appears to have swapped out his Stone Age flint-tools and animal furs for a woolly hat, somewhat rough-looking coat and a portable camp fire. This individual is genuinely captivating, as within just a few lines he suggests something cosmically catastrophic is about to occur, and in successfully dealing with it, the ‘civilised’ Neanderthal is probably going to die.

Likewise, the apparently talented drummer and wonderfully named Spiff Plunkett, whose no-nonsense honesty wins his ambitious band a single spot at The Fire Escape nightclub. Mysteriously able to tap into the more bizarre elements of his everyday surroundings, such as various winged serpents, tiny drakes and diminutive dragons, there’s quite clearly a lot more to this musician than meets the eye.

Ultimately however, this publication’s biggest strength probably rests upon Scott Gray’s artwork, which does a fantastic job of imbuing something as routine as a job interview with some palpable energy – especially when Dave and Hardee’s sales pitch quickly falters in the face of the discotheque owner’s no-nonsense stare. Furthermore, it’s difficult not to be as entranced by the illustrations depicting Plunkett’s vision as Spiff is himself, courtesy of lots of partially-blinding strobe effects, weird swirling spirals, and a fantastic palette of colour choices by Faz Choudhury.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]