Posted in: Comics | Tagged: caspar wijngaard, Comics, Dan Watters, image comics, limbo

Mac's Books: "Part Mickey Spillane, Part Angel Heart" Limbo No.1 from Image Comics

Published Wed, 11 Nov 2015 18:00:05 -0600

By Olly MacNamee

Limbo No.1 (Image Comics)
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Caspar Wijngaard

The medium really is the message in this scene setting first issue of Limbo from Dan Watters and Caspar Wjingaard, as we are thrust into a world of skullduggery, black markets and Voodoo hoodoo, all set against the backdrop of the Day of The Dead festival and all the deathly decor that comes with it. And what a suitable mis-en-scene it offers too, in this noir thriller that is part Mickey Spillane and part Angel Heart.

Watters delivers a tight paced first issue that sets up our protagonist, the amnesiac gumshoe, Clay, and his supporting cast which includes his friend, landlord, saviour and Voodoo medium, Sandy, as well as the requisite femme fatale and her hood rat boss, the enigmatic, masked menace, The Thumb. Cue story which on the surface may feel like your generic PI pulp fiction, but with shades of the supernatural sewn deep into its core, one feels that this ain't your average gritty thriller in a city of bad boys and black magic, even after one issue of this satisfying read.

Sandy, our link between the two worlds of Limbo, is more your disco queen, party scene kinda gal who just happens to have a sideline in speaking with the dead, itself a clue that this is a fresh, original take on a tried and tested genre. The spirit world itself has a rather modern approach to manifesting themselves in our plain of existence. Whether it is through the medium of audio cassettes or through other forms of mass communication, it would seem the modern spirit is nothing if not media savvy.

This is but one example of Watters and Winjgaard's fresh take on the noir thriller with a colour scheme to match. Where it needs to be suitably dark and dangerous, Winjgaard delivers with mooted tones and plenty of black, as is appropriate when creating a city that, in another dimension, would be twinned with Frank Miller's own Sin City. But, as in our introduction to Sandy and at other times in the first issue, we have the successful use of a much more vibrant, disco aesthetic, all neons and shocking pinks and purples with a design sensibility evocative of 80's dance floor culture. This feels as much a love letter to pulp PI's of the past as it is to the 80's and its New Romantic, New Wave stylings.

A murder mystery of supernatural proportions and this first issue just starts to tap the surface of this limbo world that, no doubt, will have a far reaching impact on our world in future issues of this series. And, it's what Image does best, offering new voices, new talent, new stories. Watters and Winjgaard, this is your moment to shine boys. Don't go hiding in those shadows now.

Limbo No. 1 is out today and you can meet Watters and Wjingaard at Thought Bubble this weekend. Say hi from me, won't you?

Olly MacNamee teaches English and Media, for his sins, in a school somewhere in Birmingham. Some days, even he doesn't know where it is. Follow him on twitter @ollymacnamee or read about his exploits at olly.macnamee@blogspot.co.uk.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!