Review by Terry Boyden

Alice Hotwire is young, crass and way too intelligent for her own good. But she’s the best Detective Exorcist on the Police force. Detective Exorcist? That’s right. Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead Volume 1 is a far cry from your typical superhero comic book. This is a world where the dead and the living co-exist and everybody knows it. While your mind may jump to ghost and horror stories, you should know that this is also your atypical afterlife world. Hotwire is more of a blend of science fiction and neo-Tokyo Anime, brought to life with superb illustrations and a page-turning story that you just have to read.

In Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead Volume 1 we are introduced to Alice Hotwire. She’s a Detective Exorcist who has successfully managed to ostracize the entire force by apparently “ratting out” two fellow officers. The world is filled with creatures known as “Blue Lights.” Although the “Blue Lights” are pretty much what we would call ghosts, that term is considered a misnomer in this book. Now, the dead are kept at bay through the use of suppresser towers. When the dead manage to bypass the towers, Alice is called in to save the day. Alice is joined by Detective Mobey, a by the book cop who hates her guts but manages to develop a familial bond with Hotwire. Also, we don’t really get a full grasp of the Commander’s character.

The story escalates when a prison break occurs at Maximum Security Necropolis. While Alice suffers from unwilling-hero syndrome, she is still compelled to stop the “Blue Lights” and help the city. What ensues is an epic adventure that really brings you into Alice’s character and the Hotwire world.

Warren Ellis drafted the concept, before it was fully articulated by illustrator Steve Pughs later on. Pughs delivers a compelling character in Hotwire through a high-octane story of techno gadgets and undead mischief. He also manages to mix in humor seamlessly into the dark story. Occasionally, the story’s pacing veers off and you get the feeling that Pughs did not have enough room to breath in crafting the story. The surrogate father-daughter relationship developing between Alice and Mobey seems rushed. Also the scant information we are given about Alice’s parents almost feels added in as an after thought. Pugh’s illustrations do a great job in bringing the characters to life. The intense emotions are captured effectively through subtle changes in the characters eyes or a tense look on their brow. Although this isn’t the glossy superhero style of storytelling, the artful illustrations style keeps the story in-line with other artful comic book stories like X-Force.

For the most part this is an action-adventure story, but the subtle character relationships are the real draw to this graphic novel. Although the characters never have a chance to be fully realized due to the lengthy action sequences, we do get a good sense of where this series can go.

Alice Hotwire is a promising new addition to the comic world. If you’re into science fiction, exquisite illustrations and cool techno-gadgets, this is one book worth checking out. And if you’re not, you’ll still get a kick out of Alice Hotwire’s rude but methodical badassedness.

To read the full review, click on the image below.

Review by Terry Boyden

Alice Hotwire is young, crass and way too intelligent for her own good. But she’s the best Detective Exorcist on the Police force. Detective Exorcist? That’s right. Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead Volume 1 is a far cry from your typical superhero comic book. This is a world where the dead and the living co-exist and everybody knows it. While your mind may jump to ghost and horror stories, you should know that this is also your atypical afterlife world. Hotwire is more of a blend of science fiction and neo-Tokyo Anime, brought to life with superb illustrations and a page-turning story that you just have to read.

In Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead Volume 1 we are introduced to Alice Hotwire. She’s a Detective Exorcist who has successfully managed to ostracize the entire force by apparently “ratting out” two fellow officers. The world is filled with creatures known as “Blue Lights.” Although the “Blue Lights” are pretty much what we would call ghosts, that term is considered a misnomer in this book. Now, the dead are kept at bay through the use of suppresser towers. When the dead manage to bypass the towers, Alice is called in to save the day. Alice is joined by Detective Mobey, a by the book cop who hates her guts but manages to develop a familial bond with Hotwire. Also, we don’t really get a full grasp of the Commander’s character.

The story escalates when a prison break occurs at Maximum Security Necropolis. While Alice suffers from unwilling-hero syndrome, she is still compelled to stop the “Blue Lights” and help the city. What ensues is an epic adventure that really brings you into Alice’s character and the Hotwire world.

Warren Ellis drafted the concept, before it was fully articulated by illustrator Steve Pughs later on. Pughs delivers a compelling character in Hotwire through a high-octane story of techno gadgets and undead mischief. He also manages to mix in humor seamlessly into the dark story. Occasionally, the story’s pacing veers off and you get the feeling that Pughs did not have enough room to breath in crafting the story. The surrogate father-daughter relationship developing between Alice and Mobey seems rushed. Also the scant information we are given about Alice’s parents almost feels added in as an after thought. Pugh’s illustrations do a great job in bringing the characters to life. The intense emotions are captured effectively through subtle changes in the characters eyes or a tense look on their brow. Although this isn’t the glossy superhero style of storytelling, the artful illustrations style keeps the story in-line with other artful comic book stories like X-Force.

For the most part this is an action-adventure story, but the subtle character relationships are the real draw to this graphic novel. Although the characters never have a chance to be fully realized due to the lengthy action sequences, we do get a good sense of where this series can go.

Alice Hotwire is a promising new addition to the comic world. If you’re into science fiction, exquisite illustrations and cool techno-gadgets, this is one book worth checking out. And if you’re not, you’ll still get a kick out of Alice Hotwire’s rude but methodical badassedness.

To read the full review, click on the image below.

In case you're new to the blog, I'll get you up to speed on Steve Pugh. A few years ago he did a little book called Shark-Man, which began with a tiny little publisher in conjunction with Image but didn't sell a lick. Shark-Man, if you can't tell from the title, is quite possibly the greatest comic book ever conceived by sentient beings, and I like to think it was just too awesome to survive. (If you're at all interested, I "reviewed" all three issues: #1, #2, and #3, although only the first one is a proper review. The last two are paeans to the awesomeness of Shark-Man. You'll note it took two years for three issues to come out. That might have had something to do with its demise.) After the death of Shark-Man, Pugh moved on Hotwire, a comic based on a script that a certain Warren Ellis wrote 20 years ago. Pugh explains in the introduction that he kept tweaking it after its original publisher fell apart, and then Radical Comics decided the time had come for the world to know Alice Hotwire! And lo, a four-issue mini-series was released, followed by this trade (which costs $14.95, a good value considering there are a lot of extras). As I wrote when I reviewed the first three issues, if Shark-Man had to die, at least Pugh can work on a story about a detective exorcist. She's a detective exorcist, people!!!!!!!

Click here to read the full review at ComicBookResources.com
Hotwire: Requiem of the Dead available now in single issues and trade paperback

The way this story progresses is one of the key things that really shines here. The pacing is perfect. When I say this I mean overall as a series and also as an individual issue. You get all the elements of an adventure story in one issue while also continuing to advance the main plot itself. Instead of receiving just a chunk of the overall adventure you are provided a fully functioning adventure story within an overall adventure story. This issue contains many pieces whether it be Faustian deals or ocean battles that lead to a great issue!

There are two artists who provide the art for the issue. The two artists tag out somewhere in the middle of the story according to Radical Comics. I say according to because I can’t tell when the shift happens. It is a fluid art change that shouldn’t jolt the reader at all. I know I usually can’t stand when an artist switches out with another in my issues because it can be incredibly jarring and knock my attention out of the story. This is not the case here as it is all beautiful art that very much so compliments one another.

So let’s sum this whole review up shall we? If you like solid storytelling, gorgeous art and like to get your moneys worth in a market where that isn’t always possible than I think this is a good title to pick up.

Get the full review here. Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead coming April 28, 2010.

The trade paperback goes on sale February 2010, collecting the 4-issue miniseries in a "director's cut" edition that contains newly remastered tales from Alice Hotwire's past, never-before-seen pages written by Warren Ellis and amazing newly painted artwork.