Weird Work #1: Doin’ it By the Books

Weird Work #1 follows Detective Ovra Sawce in chase of a murder mystery after his partner is found dead at the scene of a grisly crime. With a new partner that he’s less than happy about having at his side, he has to weave through a world where corporate politics and organized crime har deeply intertwined in order to bring justice to his fallen comrade.

Often, adjectives like ‘quirky’, ‘zany’, and ‘irreverent’ are thrown around haplessly in the modern has points of positivity. Comics that fall under those adjectives, rightfully so, are often great not because of their oddity, but because of how well written and engaging that oddity can often be.

Weird Work is a book that tries so hard to be ‘weird’ that the entire issue reads as superficial and disingenuous. In an art world where being odd for odds sake is mainstream, that weird has to be backed up by substance, which something this issue acts. Underneath its kooky aesthetic is nothing more than a detective tale you’ve read a hundred times over. Its writing is somewhat stale, and even more so it lacks any drive or convincing motivation for the characters.

That being said, the art isn’t too bad. At times it’s overly busy and doesn’t bring weight to the storytelling at hand, but it’s charming more often than it is garish. The character lack any strong personality or charm, and that’s partially because of the art’s inability to convey emotion in any tangible way.

The world is choked with randomness, its designs fitting this idea and making it believable. The art can be commended for its consistency and ability to make the functionality of the book’s world, which is made up of anthropomorphic creatures, rock people, and more, believable. However, the story is not reliant on the world or its strangeness, which is a massive failure in crafting a story that connect at least somewhat to the setting. It make it’s by the numbers premise even harder to find enjoyment in, since its blandness drags the rest of the issue down.