13 Coins #1
Publisher: Titan Comics
Writer: Martin Brennan & Michael B. Jackson
Artist: Simon Bisley
Cover: Simon Bisley
From the second you open up 13 Coins, Brennan and Jackson throw you directly into a fast paced story that lays the foundation about the battle between mankind and The Fallen – A group of angels who lost a major battle in Heaven and were cast down after their leader, Samyazat, was defeated. They take the most time in introducing John Pozner, who plays a key role in the overall story. He’s a tortured individual who has a shady past, but seems likeable enough to want to root for in this battle. Though it is quite evident he has no idea what’s on the horizon from his reaction to certain visions he’s been seeing. Several more characters are introduced as we see the power shift has already been put in motion, and The Fallen have already taken out several members of this specialized team that’s fighting them.
There is plenty to enjoy about 13 Coins, however, the fast pacing really hurts the character development and introductions in this first issue. It seems to jump around quite a bit after the flashback, making it difficult to be invested in anyone except Pozner. Jackson and Brennan give Bisley some great action sequences to draw, but there’s not much at stake, because you don’t know these characters enough to actually care who lives and who dies. The strength of the story lies heavily in the premise, and the hope that things slow down just enough to give us more story and development. Also, Simon Bisley’s artwork does a lot of the heavy lifting and gives the story some emotional kick along the way. His visuals are a major high point in this issue which is what we’ve come to expect.
13 Coins seems like it could be a strong story as the power struggle between The Fallen and mankind looks to be a great premise. Hopefully there’s some natural character development as the story goes and the story flows a little easier. It may not be the best first issue out there, but the artwork and potential are reason enough to stick around for the second issue.
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
