The Bicentennial year of 1976 was a great time for celebration, but in New York City, beat cop John McClane is having a heck of a time with throng of revelers, dealing with the richest of the rich, and of course there’s that whole issue of corrupt cops on the force.
Die Hard: Year One #2
Written by Howard Chaykin
Drawn by Stephen Thompson
24pgs, FC, SRP: $3.99
COVER A: Dave Johnson
COVER B: Jock
Diamond Code: JUL090749
Last issue, Rosie Haskell’s life turned upside down. The girl from the small town got turned around in the Big Apple and wound up on the wrong side of the tracks; witnessing the murder of a civilian at the hands of two cops. This issue picks up moments after the first, and the issue is one long drawn out foot chase as the two corrupt cops attempt to track down the blonde. And that’s about it…
Unfortunately, a foot chase through the crowds doesn’t work out in comic book form like it might on the big screen. It causes the issue to feel long and drawn out, and by the end, readers might feel like nothing has happened. Sure, there are a few expository moments where readers are tangentially introduced to what the band of evil doers are planning down the line, but it requires the reader to slog his or her way through a really boring chase scene, with even more mundane interactions between McClane and the general public as he goes about his day. From what might be deduced, a big party on the yacht of the third richest man on the world might be the target of the three bad guys, and they might just have a plan to kill a whole lot of people in their get away. It isn’t spelled out exactly, but it is hinted at through the various dialogue exchanges. As a reader, I wanted the story to move forward, but it kept stalling so much, that by the half-way point I was already bored.
That’s not to say that there aren’t good moments in the issue. The dialogue is exceptionally well written, but when three pages are spent in an exchange between McClane and his pain in the butt partner over the handling of a flasher, it makes one wonder if that scene (and others) couldn’t have been shortened to get to the point more quickly. I did like the art much better this go around, probably because it is growing on me as art usually does.
As a fan of the original Die Hard movie, high expectations are really hurting this issue for me. Granted, the first film did drag at the beginning, but it didn’t feel like 30 minutes had passed before everything kicked into high gear. At this point, something big needs to happen in issue #3 in order to move the story forward, or else Boom! runs the risk of losing a great deal of the readers. I’m sure there are some really great things coming in this series – that I have no doubt, Howard Chaykin has a solid writing record, and Boom! continues to have a good record of putting out hit series, I just wish I didn’t have to wait another month to see if this series turns around. For now, Die Hard: Year One #2 only gets 2 out of 5 Stars from this reviewer.