‘Carver’ #1- Masked Villains and Lantern Jawed Heroes
Carver #1 relies heavily on the tropes of the stoic, lantern jawed anti-hero, who can come unhinged at a moment’s notice (If he had a beard instead of a mustache, Carver could easily be a young Clint Eastwood.) , and the masked, monologue spouting villain. However, Chris Hunt keeps things relatively fresh with the sweep of his black and white artwork using economic, striking visuals to craft his hero as well as making Stacker Lee an amusing, if ruthless villain. There is also a rich, three page backup story written and drawn by comics legend Paul Pope showing another facial haired-sporting hero handing off the baton of adventure to Carver as they watch an exotic dancer called the Black Pearl of Paris. Pope captures the decadence of 1920s Paris, which leads directly to the smoking, post-coital Carver that opens the comic. Carver #1 is a retro-styled, pulp adventure comic with striking black and white art that will only improve once Francis Carver and Stacker Lee face off.
