Image Comics
(w) Dan Watters (a) Dani (c) Brad Simpson
With Comics being such a huge media nowadays it’s hard to find a comic that is unique, original, or has a radically different spin on an old trupe. That’s where Coffin Bound #1 drives it’s obscure story and world into your heart. I’m a sucker for a cool logo on a product so when I spied Coffin Bound’s great logo adorning it’s simple yet question evoking cover It piqued my interest. It helps this cover has a character we meet named Vulture that as of our knowledge is a vulture skeleton in a cage on a human’s body. Yeah, shits going to get weird, but you’ll love it!
Dan Watters introduces us to our main characters, plot, and how different their world is within a matter of pages by having Izzy Tyburn (our main bad ass gal) meet her soon to be road trip partner, Vulture. We don’t know if that’s truly his name. Granted we don’t even know its gender, all we do learn is that it’s a dead vulture in a cage atop a human body that by the end of the first issue becomes one of the best characters. While Izzy quickly dispatches the hitmen that are after her, Vulture warns of another unique character that is after her, The Eartheater! Who in its debut page gives enough information to tease but not enough to spoil, which is what’s great about Coffin Bound #1.
Through the issue Watters gives us some hints of history between all of the characters while building a sense of intrigue of just how far and crazy this world could become.This is helped by the chaotic energy of artist Dani, and bright colors that are subdued enough to match the world by colorist Brad Simpson. Through these creators eyes we are transported to a world that seems to be like ours but within pages we learn that as much as it’s the same, it’s completely different with the aforementioned Vulture hybrid, the weird creature that is the Eartheater, and a stripper that strips down to her muscles. Coffin Bound #1’s greatest strength is how it’s creative team makes all of the WTF moments work out perfectly while feeling like it’s nothing unusual in Izzy’s world.
Watters dialogue and world building keeps the plot tight and interesting while constantly teasing more to come and never giving too much away. With issue 1 ending on Izzy finding an old friend (or maybe more) promising us a road trip that’ll introduce us to a myriad of unique characters, which Dani’s art brings to life. Dani’s gritty and sketch-like art is akin to Eduardo Risso’s work which melds perfectly in the world of Coffin Bound. The background itself speaks a great deal on the story with buildings looking cluttered and messy on the inside as if most of the residents just stopped caring. When we meet the EarthEater its in a deserted area keeping the page dedicated to just that character so all of our focus is on this weird creature, the panels for the stripper that goes skin deep is the same.
Making the panels fractured Dani frames the gruesome strip scene with full body shots of the skin peeling off and a quick thin panel of the client’s eyes. These panels all flow down to a wide look at our traumatized client. This panel layout and page is wonderfully executed focusing on the exotic and bizarre nature of what’s going on. But these moments wouldn’t hit as hard as they do without Brad Simpson’s colors. In the skin stripping scene Simpson plays with bright colors that are dulled as not to look too bright (as stated earlier) that would make it seem to cartoonish. Pulsating between a light blue, then when the peeling begins a purple mixed with red, and finally a bright red.
Coffin Bound #1 is a great first issue that gives enough to keep you wanting to come back for more, but fails in one small aspect that its promising, action. Advertising it as, Cars! Guns! Entropy! and action packed we only see one quick shoot out, and then the EarthEater using its power. Other then these two moments we aren’t treated too much of ultra violence that seemed to be abound. But with its amazing world building, characters, ideas and art that lack of violence isn’t all that bad.
Memorable Quote: “A Vulture. Apologies – I thought that, at least, was apparent.” – Vulture. I mean you do have a vulture head, but other than that I have no idea what the hell you are!