Straight Forward Reviews : Fracture vol 2 # 4

The cerebral series Fracture returns with more clones and different personalities fighting clashing in life or death battles.

Writer - Shawn Gabborin

Artist - Chad Cicconi

Publisher - Action Lab Entertainment

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

Jeff's clone Virtue has gone haywire and seeks to kill Jeff. On top of this a villain that controls crocodiles is terrorizing lower Triton city. Any more summarizing would be criminal as this story is pretty dense.

The writing in this issue really shines. This series is all about a man's mental state and relationships with other characters. Of course there's still super heroics and it still has plenty of action. But, it really is more about the dialog rather than the action. With that in mind the characters have to sound like they're real people and fortunately enough they do. Despite it being a comic book with superheroes they sound and feel real. When they're not fighting. During the action scenes the dialog reads a bit too much like a Saturday morning cartoon which is a bit jarring compared to the rest of the dialog.

Art

The art does it's job. Objectively speaking the characters look good and so do the environments. Some bits of action looks like it could flow better. Subjectively it's not really my cup of tea but it's nowhere near bad, I didn't feel like it was a chore to look at it or anything that dire. Which goes to prove that the art truly isn't bad, the style can be something you don't care for but if it's still getting your attention and doesn't seem to set off any "that's just bad" alarms then it has to still be pretty good.

Verdict

Fracture is a unique series that's really standing out right now. This issue has a lot done right and some awkward moments. Which are mainly from the action parts of the comic feeling too much like a Saturday morning cartoon. But there's much more hits than there are misses and it's so unique that it should get looked at on that alone. The dialog and developments on Jeff's psyche are very intriguing. With that said I give Fracture vol 2 # 4 an 8.5 out of 10.

Straight Forward Reviews : Fracture Vol. 2 # 3

Action Lab continues Fracture's second volume. With twists and turns in the story and tensions heating up in Jeff's personal life just what can be expected this from this issue? Read on and find out.

Writer - Shawn Gabborin

Artist - Chad Cicconi

Publisher - Action Lab

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

This particular series is one that's easy to spoil so without trying to give too much away. Jeff's fracture clone Virtue seems to be going through a change. Virtue seems to have his own views on right and wrong and they seem to be quite different than what Jeff feels.

The comic started off with what seems like a Saturday morning cartoon battle between "the bad guys" and "the good guys" how wrong you are if you think that's all this comic would be, or even if you think that's all the battle at the beginning is. Within five pages the story takes a turn and you'll see how the comic veers from what it seemed to be at the beginning. It turns into something more complex and with quite a bit of character development.

Art

The art is alright. The lines are great but the colors could be more detailed for this kind of story. I love bright and vibrant colors but for this kind of cerebral story it feels kind of odd for the characters to be looking like children's cartoons. It doesn't really hurt the comic's story though and it's not off putting enough to make it a jarring experience to read.

Verdict

This issue brings tension, mystery and action into a pretty awesome package. Some of the dialog feels like it's trying a little too hard to poke fun of tropes and clichés. But I still have to say it's pretty smartly written and totally worth reading. I give Fracture Vol. 2 # 3 an 8 out of 10.