Review: The Activity #1
Jan 11, 2012 by     1 Comment     Posted In: Reviews

image-comics-logoI’m a sucker for Image number ones. I’ll always at least flip through them to take a peek and see if it might cater to my tastes. Activity #1 from writer Nathan Edmondson and illustrator Mitch Gerads is a spy intrigue comic. It’s a slick looking, calculated affair with a highly cinematic approach to story-telling. If you like Tom Cruise or Matt Damon action flicks or probably more accurately Tom Clancy novels, Activity #1 is probably your cup.

It’s not mine.

Though well constructed, Activity #1 was a mostly dull proposition for me. Lacking flair and character, its plot comes across as basic and formulaic. The plot involves a team of intelligence agents in a unnamed organization in deeper cover than the CIA – as they often are. They tend to clean up messes made by others. They are the top of their field and go by mediocre code names such as Weatherman and Bookstore. If these code names are supposed to be hints into the characters’ personalities there is little to no The Activity 1 Preview Pageindication otherwise that these people have one. They are thus far chess pieces in a plot. Moved around as the writer sees fit to set up his gambit. More precisely the plot can be summed up basically in one sentence. A team of agents loses a guy, he is replaced by another agent who has a secret agenda given to her by her superiors. The rest is icing as near as I can tell. If you are a fan of this genre this will be a nice square meal for you. Meat and potatoes, maybe a bit of gravy. I on the other hand am left wanting for flavor. Some sort of spice would be nice please. No? I’ll pass.

Gerads’ precise pencils and colors (in tandem with Kyle Latino) are more impressive than the script in my opinion. It’s not the type of artwork I would hang on a wall, not because it’s bad but because it is specifically designed to be serviceable. It doesn’t call attention to itself, but it mostly exists to support the story. A refreshing approach certainly. Utilizing a combination of icy tones juxtaposed with earth tones – depending on the setting and time-frame of the story – goes a long way in providing clarity in this “jump around” intro. And the story-telling is strong in terms of panel arrangement as well, never missing a “need-to-show” moment so that the reader is always perfectly aware of the action being depicted. To be truthful though, this is a fairly thin issue plot-wise. Not being familiar with Gerads’ work, I’d personally be weary going in – would I decide to keep reading the series – about his ability to handle the no doubt upcoming increasing complexity of the plot. That said, judging solely by what’s on the page, he seems an accomplished artist, so I’m assuming all will be well as the series goes along.

I can say the same for Edmondson honestly. A recognized name and one associated with talent. So I guess I’m of two minds. Part of me sees this as what it is. Ie.: a well put together intro to a straight up spy intrigue story. An uncluttered  debut. The other part of me simply isn’t interested in another one of these comics. Had this issue included a more pronounced quirk I might have let myself be reeled in. But it isn’t so. I’ll let others keep reading and read their reviews. If this grows into more than it currently appears to be, I might revisit it at a later date.

Script: 5/10
Art: 7/10
Parental concern: Yellow

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  • Chip Reece January 11, 2012 at 7:31 pm

    Yeah, this type of story doesn’t grab me. Thanks for giving an obscure title some love though Jason!