Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of No Such Thing As Reviews! Otherwise known as Neither Sister Talks About Riddles. I’m Ryan Atkinson and every and every Tuesday here on No Such Thing As Reviews, we’ll be reviewing a plethora of pop culture and wonderful things! Independent comic books, T.V., movies and more! The reviews will consist of a brief overview of what we will be reviewing, a summary of the content (spoiler alert!!), my personal thoughts on the content including a rating out of 5 and whenever possible we will include an interview with the creators as well!
This week I’ll be reviewing Slate & Ashe Issue #1: Worst Laid Plans written by Ethan Murphy with artowrk by Luigi Teruel and colours by Jen Hickman.
The book opens with two people in lab coats sitting at some desks at First Memorial Hospital. One is looking into a microscope, the other is complaining that there was mayonnaise on her sandwich again. The woman at the microscope ignores the complaining woman and says that the blood she is examining is positive.
Cut to another room, the doctor who was at the microscope walks through the door to speak with a man who is waiting. He asks her what the results are. She tries to tell the man but she can’t get the words out, however he picks up what she’s laying down. He hugs her and promises that everything is going to be all right. She is worried that because of this “they” (we don’t know who “they” are as of yet) might grab the person who’s blood is positive.
We cut to the Border Walls of Iron City. There are two guards in a watchtower. One of them is complaining about his upset stomach from eating the delicious but questionable chili from a man named Boo. He leaves to go to the bathroom leaving the other guard to man the post alone. Behind the remaining guard we see a shadow that he thinks is his colleague returning from the bathroom. It is much too soon to take care of the.. Workload that was expected from the chili so he teases the figure about it before he is attacked and presumably killed.
We return to the hospital. The doctor is speaking with a little girl named Haley about school and boys. Haley says that school is going well except for the boys because the keep getting weirder. The doctor tells Haley that they never really stop being weird while we can see that on the rest of the page that at the Border Walls there is an altercation between the guards and some figures we cannot make out as of yet.
The focus is brought back to the room with the doctor and Haley. The doc asks Haley if she knows why she was brought there for tests. Haley then says she thinks its because of “the bleeding”. and the doctor says that she is partially right. We learn that Haley was brought to the hospital so that the doctors can determine if she is able to give birth to a “special type of baby” and that in fact she can.
We then cut to Faulkner Research Facility where a male doctor is with another little girl named Sumrien. We learn that he is her father. She asks if everything is going to be okay and he assures her it will as he produces a syringe full of a green liquid.
We then cut back over to the female doctor with Haley. She explains to Haley that only certain women can have children with “The Diseased” which makes Haley have a panic attack. She is terrified at the news and thinks the doctor means that she herself is “Diseased”. The doctor assures her that she isn’t because women CAN’T be.
Then we cut back to the father and Sumrien but with narration from Haley and her doctor. She asks the doc if there is a cure and the doc says no. All the while we see in the panels behind the narration that the father is injecting Sumrien with the syringe and it seems obvious that Sumrien is a carrier as well and he has concocted what he believes to be a cure which causes her to scream after the injection.
We cut back to Haley and her doctor. The doc is comforting Haley because she is scared that The Diseased will be hunting her down now that she can have their offspring. We go back to the wall and continue with narration from the doctor and Haley. The doc swears to Haley that nothing will happen to her. In the panels we can see a guard lying on the ground, injured, firing he gun at one of The Diseased. The shots do nothing as far as we can tel and the creature approaches the guard and kills him by stepping on him.
We then are brought to the man who was with Haley and her doctor. He is radioing over to the South End Control Tower for a pickup for Haley as she has just tested positive. Control then tells him that one might not be enough because they are experiencing a breach. He tells them to send a party of three and they better have their balls screwed on tight.
Then we cut back over to Sumrien and her father. She is in a lot of pain and her father is wrapping her arm where he injected her with some gauze. She then swats him across the room with ease and he is in shock “Oh God. What have I done?”
Now we cut over to the convoy that the man has just ordered. Specifically to one of the cars. There are three men inside, two of which are arguing about a lost bet. One owes money to the other for missing a shot and he refuses to pay it because even though it wasn’t dead center, he still hit the target with his “switch-lock” custom made gun. It can shoot in any direction.
They continue talking up until out of nowhere their vehicle gets swarmed by a group of The Diseased. Huge grey hands smash through their vehicle grabbing at the soldiers, pulling them from their vehicle.
The soldiers attempt to fight off the diseased but the creatures have the upper hand. One grabs Ashe (The one who has the custom weapon) and asks “Where is she?!”. Haley’s fears are coming true as The Diseased seem to be looking for her.
We then cut back over to Sumrien and her father. She is unconscious and he is trying to revive her. Unfortunately he is unable to and she dies.
Then we cut back to the conflict on the road. Ashe is still being held by the creature and it begins to ask the same question again but before it can get all the words out, Ashe shoves a grenade in it’s mouth and down it’s throat, which as you’d imagine, blew up it’s head.
Ashe then rushes to protect “her” and gets to the vehicle that she is kept in. It is locked with a number combination and he fumbles with it until one of his colleagues tells him the correct code. He opens it up and we see that it is in fact Haley inside. She climbs on his back and they make their way away from the conflict. They find an abandoned car and they get in. He tells her to strap herself in with every seat belt she can find in the back seat and then they depart leaving The Diseased in their rear view.
They drive for a short way, Ashe picking off creatures as they come across them until up ahead they see a rather large one standing in the road. He shoots at the creature and his shots just ricochet off of it. Ashe says “..let’s see if the bastard is car proof!” and hits it with the car. But that was a dumb move, Ashe. The Diseased just grabs the car and tosses it onto it’s roof.
It rips into the car and goes to grab Haley, Ashe is trapped and cat get to her.
And that’s the end of Issue One of Slate & Ashe!
I really like this story! I do have a couple issues with the book though.
The artwork in this book is done nicely. Also the book is in full colour which as you know gets extra points in my book.
The problem I had with this book is it can get a little tedious with all of the cuts. While reading it seems like every half of a page we are cutting to a new location. There are a couple sub plots in the story, which is great but the cuts to them could have been done a little better, maybe better isn’t the right word. Maybe just less often.
But like I said, I do like the story! Just the main criticism of the book would just be the cuts.
I would certainly recommend this book for anyone to read, just keep in mind of those cuts jumping around on you. It has some mature themes though so parental discretion should be advised.
My ratings for the book are as follows:
Artwork – 3/5
Story – 3/5
I had the pleasure of speaking with Ethan Murphy on his process and you can find that interview below!
What got you started in comics?
“I got interested in superheroes after when I started watching Batman the Animated series back in the early 90’s. That was a gateway show which led to the Xmen and Spiderman cartoons. When the cartoons ran out of episodes, I turned to their printed counterparts.”
How did you come up with the idea for this story?
“The idea for Slate & Ashe was actually loosely pitched to me by an inker at DC. He wanted to develop a comic about a cop and a zombie working together for some reason on something.”
Do you use an outline or a plot, or do you just follow an idea and see where you end up?
“I definitely use an outline. I have write a big macro one for the overall story arc and then do an micro outline for each individual issue. For me, writing without an outline is like trying to lead a sleigh without Rudolph.”
What inspires you to create?
“Adversity is probably my single favorite muse. Stories have always inspired me to keep going and the idea that something I could write could somehow do the same for someone else always helps me create.”
Do you ever get writer’s block? And if so, how do you overcome it?
“When don’t I get writer’s block?! Haha. I almost always get it around PAGE 13. The infamous PAGE 13. It’s near the start of the second act and I’m trying to connect the first half of the book with the second half. What actually helped me overcome it in general was joining an improv comedy troop. Doing an improv scene is like having to write live in front of an audience with no editing. Really good practice.”
If you could choose an actor/actress to star in a movie based on your book, who would it be?
“I would probably cast Michael B. Jordan to play Ashe and Jason Mantzoukas to play Slate. Or at least I’d like to.”
What were you like in school?
“I was kind of a “comic relief” in most of my classes. Not the clown but usually could lighten the mood and make the cool people look cooler.”
What is your favourite motivational quote or phrase?
“Everything is impossible until someone does it.”
Where can we buy or read your comic?
“You can buy “Slate & Ashe” at Atlas Comics in Charlottesville, Telegraph Comics and online at Indyplanet.com. The first issue is actually available as a free download on Google.”
If you could only give one piece of advice to aspiring creators, what would it be?
“Never be afraid to ask for help. Forming a good team is the best way to help you make your dreams real.”
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And the question on everybody’s mind: Are you more of a Marvel or DC person?
“I’m definitely more of a Marvel guy. Professor X is my all time favorite super hero BUT Batman and Robin are a very close collective second.”
I’d like to thank Ethan for taking part in our interview!
If you are a creator and would like to see your book reviewed you can email me at atkinsonryang@gmail.com and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!
And thank you all for reading! If anyone has any suggestions for next week’s alternate acronym (N.S.T.A.R.) please comment your suggestion below 🙂
I’ve been Ryan Atkinson and I’ll see you next week and remember.. There’s No Such Thing As Reviews!
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