Review: Blackacre #1 by Boudreau & Cavalcanti (Endorsed by Fraction, Brubaker & Hickman)

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(Actual cover on the left. Promotional poster with testimonials from three top Marvel writers on the right.)

Review:  Blackacre #1

Published by Image Comics

Written by Duffy Boudreau

Art by Wendell Cavalcanti

Coloured by Antonio Fabela

The Plot

The prologue begins in the year 2202 with Dr. K. Olafsson providing a lecture on the history of what happened to the United States.  It includes civilization obsessing, falling, and a consortium virtually taking over what was left.  Their goal and achievement was the creation of Blackacre, which is a self-sufficient city-state that houses the haves and excludes the have-nots.  Dr. Olafsson concludes with a message about the potential end of Blackacre.  Back in 2114, some guards/soldiers asks a soldier named Hull to check out an animal carcass at the border of Blackacre.  They booby trapped it however as a prank/outgoing present as he’s leaving wall-guard duty.  Meanwhile in the Hinterlands, a man is preparing to eat with his children while hiding underground.  They are discovered and we learn that it is all a part of the Holy Wars.  Back at Blackacre, they are honouring Hull for his years of service.  He is then courted for service by both a shady looking “Guardian” named Martin Kellogg and an Executor, Terrence Sinclair.  Hull reflects back upon his life, which shows his true allegiance, while having, um, relations with a woman.  The next day, Sinclair is elaborating upon what he hinted at to Hull the previous night.  His mission is to find a former soldier named Greene who has been missing while trying to infiltrate the forces outside of Blackacre in order to appropriate more land.  However, it is revealed at the conclusion that not all is as it seems for Hull.

The Breakdown

This was a good first issue and I did enjoy it.  However, my expectations were pretty high going in, because there were some pretty high praises coming from some well-established talent.  I didn’t feel as strongly as I hoped, but I still enjoyed this comic.  I want to see more of the fall-out that essentially necessitated the need for the creation of Blackacre.  There have been many stories that are post-apocalyptic in nature, but this one has a more unique quality about it.  The relationship with Hull and his comrades was effective at establishing his standing with everyone.  I’m also interested in what the Holy Wars are and how it is going to affect Hull and Blackacre.  Overall, Hull does have a lot of respect for the people he’s served with and him going to any lengths to help them makes him likeable.  This is one of the things that makes or breaks a book for me is if the protagonist is generally likeable or relatable at the very least.  Hull’s background and history is touched upon and I am interested in seeing this elaborated upon as well.  He seems to be fairly well-adjusted, which doesn’t really seem to be congruent with his apparent upbringing.  This is just an introductory issue of course (where not a lot happens), but it still laid out a solid framework for a good story.  The art did contain some good facial expressions that were helpful in providing some additional information on some characters.  A good issue with a decent cliffhanger that will have me coming back for the next one.

BUT…

I am always on the fence about stories that provide too many hints of what is to come.  The prologue was effective about providing some important history, but it mentions how it’s all going to fall apart.  I would rather slowly see it happening or anticipate it happening without actually being told that it’s going to happen.  Blackacre seems to be filled with some sort of corruption and I would’ve liked to hope that they would get theirs.  I’m not really invested in any of the characters with the exception of Hull, but this is just the first issue so I’m not counting that against this comic yet.  It seems like it’s terrible both inside and outside of Blackacre and I hope that there are some redeeming qualities introduced next issue in order to make me care more about either world.  The art isn’t spectacular in this issue, but there’s a lot of exposition so that could have a lot to do with it.

Buy It, Borrow It, Shelf Read It, or Ignore It?

Buy It…if you’re a mature reader.  First issues in general can be my least favorite issues so I’m going to wait until the second issue to see what I think about this series.  I can’t recommend someone to not read a comic based on a first issue alone.  There were some plotlines introduced that have me interested enough to come back next issue.  However, what kind of hurt this comic for me were the really high expectations that I had going into it.  I’m certain that the next issue will build upon this one and subsequently create more depth in this world and its characters.  Hull has had some significant training so I’m looking forward to seeing how he’ll handle himself in the wild outside of Blackacre.

I have been both an avid and casual comic reader over the years (depending on the quality of books). I have been reading Comics Nexus even prior to it becoming Comics Nexus and am glad to be a columnist. In addition, feel free to leave comments whether you agree or disagree because it always leads to discussions.