A few months ago, I reviewed an eight-page snippet of a comic entitled Complex. Now I’ve had the chance to sink my teeth into the full sixty-six-page prologue and… it’s good!
COMPLEX PROLOGUE (Impulsive Ideas)
Script by MICHAEL MALKIN
Art by KAY
Letters by DEKARA
Complex is hard to describe, but not at all hard to enjoy. It is, at its most basic level, a mysterious take on concepts such as missing time and mind control. It’s the story of life in a small town that is not at all what it seems. The definition of “reality” is flexible in this town, for reasons that are hidden behind a thick wall of secrecy that the creators of Complex pull back only very slowly.
Much of the town’s denizens appear to be in the grip of some kind of research project. What kind of project it is isn’t made exactly clear, but we can guess that it is up to some not-so-savory business. Apocalyptic overtones dominate much of this book, and in my view it wouldn’t take a whole lot to push this book into all-out “psychological horror” territory. In this case, and under these creators’ watch, that is most definitely a good thing.
The characters of Complex are dynamic and believably written. Even when we don’t know the precise nature of their motives, there can be no disputing that they have motives, and most likely pretty nefarious ones to boot. The scripting in general seems to be very good, and the pacing is immaculate. Just a few pages in, I realized that there was absolutely no chance of me losing interest before the last page.
The art isn’t perfect, but it is certainly very good — even downright fantastic in some instances. The level of detail is a little inconsistent in a few places, but not enough to distract from the reading experience. The black-and-white palette of this comic is perfectly suited to the tone of the story, and only served to draw me into the story even further.
I could try to describe what exactly this comic is all day, but I don’t think I could sum it up any better than by just telling you that it’s cool. Complex is a well-written and well-drawn comic, and if you consider yourself a fan of sci-fi mysteries, or anything moody and psychological, Complex should definitely be your cup of tea. You can read it for free at its very own website and on Graphicly .
IN TWO WEEKS: Dream Reavers!
Evan Henry is an aspiring comic book writer with several forthcoming projects. He has dabbled in various other forms of writing, including prose and amateur journalism.
Evan has been writing comic scripts since 2007 and poetry since 2008. In his free time, he enjoys reading on the subjects of philosophy, history, and political science, reading comic books and science fiction, and watching television programs about monkeys.
For information on sending review copies, Evan can be reached via e-mail at evanh2008@yahoo.com 
