People love a good conspiracy…wait I have already said this. Apparently it’s true though because now this week Oni Press is presenting a new series revolving about D.B. Cooper and the supposed truth behind this 40-year-old mystery.
Writer: Brian Churilla
Artist: Brian Churilla
Letterer: Ed Brisson
Editor: James Lucas Jones
Publisher: Oni Press
Cover Cost: $3.99
Previously in The Secret History of D.B. Cooper:: Once again we are starting out on a brand new adventure with this title from Oni, so some quick background on the real-life event this is based around. In November of 1971 a man who called himself D.B. Cooper boarded Flight 305 from Portland to Seattle and soon informed a flight attendant that he had a bomb. After his demands of $200,000 and two parachutes were met he proceeded to jump out of the plane to never be found again.
INCEPTION GETS DEADLY
If you were unaware of any of the history about D.B. Cooper, you are in luck because on the first page we are given essentially all the background information you could ever need. From there the crazy shifts into overdrive as the story goes to a week before the hijacking and D.B. Cooper is walking around in a creepier Wonderland world while talking a teddy bear with one ear.
After a little more walking Cooper arrives to his destination and brandishes his samurai sword in preparation to face down a giant monster. Quickly we realize that this monster is not what it appears to be through cut-ins from a distant Communist nation, which creates a great moment when the final kill blow is dished out.
As the final few pages come up we start to get a feel for how the cover up story is going to unfold. Cooper meets up with two government stiffs to partake in what was suppose to be the big reveal of the issue, but it fell a little flat for me. The final panel has left me intrigued about what the comic’s timeline is though by either showing the beginning to this issue’s main action, what I think is happening, or the start to a new mind adventure.
FAMILIAR AND GOOD
If you enjoy the artwork by Eric Powell on the Goon title you will enjoy Churilla’s as well. The coloring and panel backgrounds, being of a solid color, give this title the same overall feel as Goon book. What really reminds me of the look is the facial structure of the characters and the general expressions that each make. And just to make it clear, I’m not trying to rip on Churilla. I think his work in this book is fantastic; he creates emotional depth and turmoil for the main character almost entirely through the art, which helps create a more full reading experience.
BOTTOM LINE:KEEP IT ON YOUR RADAR
Overall this was an enjoyable read and I like the direction Brian Churilla is pointing this series for the future. The “official” letter at the end was a nice touch to try and establish this as the truth and even included a link to “some new audio” that had been discovered. I had only one problem and that was with the ending panel and the timeline confusion that unfolded from it. The Secret History of D.B. Cooper deserves 4 out of 5 stars and a high recommendation for you to go out and grab a copy.
1 Comment
I loved the nonlinear storytelling. It made the book more engaging and unique, and I wasn’t confused by the first and last panels being the same. It gave the issue a cyclical nature, sequencing-wise. It was a really interesting and bizarre read. Can’t wait for issue 2.