INDIE REVIEW: Merrick and Crowe #1

By Matt Vroom

Merrick and Crowe #1 is an independent comic book written by Tom Ward and Corey Fryia, with art by Luke Parker, lettering by Micah Myers, and edited by Clare Lenton.

It appears to me that Kickstarter has given so much to the rise of the indie comic book scene. There have been so many gems that I have discovered through browsing the many projects that are hosted on the site.

The first thing that drew me to this title was the art. It is reminiscent of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. The ink is very blocky, and it adds to the atmosphere to the noir feeling of this “pulp comic crossover.”

The comic opens up on Dr. Victor Crowe stalking the streets of London looking for clues to the murder of a police officer. He has heard rumors of a large man wearing a mask terrorizing the citizens of the city. He believes him to be behind the string of disappearing children. This path of investigation inevitably pits him against the other protagonist of this story, Joseph Merrick a.k.a. the Sensational Elephantman!

This is a great comic book team up. The first of its kind that I have really enjoyed reading. I wasn’t familiar with neither of these worlds when I backed this Kickstarter like I said before it was the art that drew me to it, but I didn’t feel like I needed to. The writing painted the landscape and introduced the characters in a way that was organic and felt like it was building upon the overarching story.

Merrick & Crowe was actually a pretty fun read, and by the end of the story, I wanted to see more of both characters. I think that was the point of it too. On the last page, it actually revealed that there is so much more background story for both of these sensational characters. It appears that the Sensational Elephantmant has seven other stories under his belt, and Doctor Crowe has five.

So if you do end up picking up this title, then be prepared to read the entire series to get the full effect of what this crossover event means.

There were so many things that these creators got right in this book. The art was just spectacular, the writing was inviting, and the overall plot made sense. It opened up the possibility that more of these team-up stories will appear in the future.

I do not have anything negative about this story or the book. I sometimes fear that what looks good on the Kickstarter would not look good in the end. I tend to get buyers remorse sometimes, but this comic was not the case. This was a good investment on my part.

I give this comic 9 out of 10 capes. I was a solid “A” in my book of comic criticisms. It would be rated as a PG13 in film terms. There are some adult themes in the book, and that wasn’t a bad thing. It took some hits to the social commentary of child molestations and murder. Things that must have been prevalent at the time this story takes place in the streets of London.

If you would like to get a copy of this comic or check out more material like it, then head on over to www.merrickcomic.co.uk or www.artofparker.com. You can also purchase any of the previous comics on Comixology. Also, make sure you follow The Elphantman Comic (here) and Doctor Crowe (here) on Facebook and Twitter.

If you have a comic that you would like me to review, then please feel free to email me at matt@superherospeak.com, or Dave at dave@superherospeak.com.