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Title: The Activity #1
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Nathan Edmondson
Artist: Mitch Gerads
Cover: Mitch Gerads

“Fiddler on the Roof“: In the midst of all of the superhero, sci-fi, and horror comics out there, it’s nice to read something different. Something that breaks the mold but has all the action and familiarity I crave for in a comic book. So what comic is better to try out than The Activity? An action espionage with the styling you’d expect from Image Comics.

And speaking of styling, the art (Mitch Gerads) and coloring (assisted by Kyle Latino) is very much in the spirit of modern Image. Bright, shiny coloring combined with clear, smooth drawings. I especially like how there’s often a slim vertical image of a location between scene transitions. Plus there’s good lighting and computer effects (at least that’s what it seems like) with the coloring. Mitch Gerads also gets credit for the lettering, doing a good job with keeping it readable while also adding some interesting computer typing (kind of like in the spy tech movies where they spell out the locations).

The writing (Nathan Edmondson) is good, too. He keeps the dialog short and simple. And for this kind of work, that’s the way it should be. There are some mission explanations, but nothing that drags on too long. Most importantly, you don’t have to worry about The Activity being plagued by overused lines like “Let’s do it!”

However, there is one big problem I have with The Activity #1. It’s not the art, the writing, or the premise. Those are all done up to Image standards and were certainly the comic’s strong point. What I didn’t like was the pacing. Which was done at breakneck speed, leaving me feeling like I didn’t know what the hell was going on. Obviously I knew it was about special forces, and again, the premise interested me a good deal. But they threw in characters way too quickly without much introduction or explanation. I was able to put together bits of pieces of the character relationships (helps explain the relationship when you see them kissing) and the plot. However, I wish it slowed down a little or at least didn’t jump from scene to scene in a blink of an eye. Especially considering that this is the very first issue, which is essentially a hook or an introduction.

This doesn’t mean it’s a terrible series. As I said, it’s a talented team and the premise is interesting. I just hope that over the next few issues, I’ll get to understand more of what’s going on and get to know more about the characters.

Andrew Hudson
ahudson@comicattack.net
@Hudsonian

This issue was provided by Image Comics.