On the hunt for antiques, world-famous detectives Merry and Sammy, have stumbled onto a new case in The City of Lights. Your Major Spoilers review of Gilt Frame #1 from Dark Horse Comics, awaits!
GILT FRAME #1
Writers: Margie Kraft Kindt and Matt Kindt
Artist: Matt Kindt
Letterer: Sophia Hilmes
Editor: Daniel Chabon
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $9.99
Release Date: August 14th, 2024
Previously in Gilt Frame: Sam, who is in his early twenties, is an orphan, taken in when he was younger by his well-off Aunt Merry who has an eccentric taste for antiques and travel. Together, Sam and Merry have solved some of the most notorious murders in the world.
OF CHAIRS AND MURDER
Gilt Frame #1 starts with Sam and his Aunt Merry, celebrating the solving of their most recent case, while soaking up some rays on the beach. Things then go back to one week prior in St. Louis. There, Merry is preparing a meal which turns out to celebrate the first day that Sam was brought to her. It also acts as a bribe to convince him to come with her to Paris, in order to get a pair of chairs, which could be very valuable, appraised. The duo makes their way to Paris with the chairs and go to meet the appraiser. He informs them that they’re reproductions and worthless. Another man overhears and tells Merry and Sam that they should take them to a different collector. They meet the other collector who is willing to make a deal, as well as sell Merry a picture frame she’s been looking for. When the two make it back to the hotel, they discover that the chairs have been vandalized. The next morning, they go to confront the collector, who lets them into his gallery, only to discover a body.
A TRUE CLASSIC MURDER MYSTERY
Gilt Frame #1 is a type of murder mystery like Murder, She Wrote, or old Christie novels, the type that had fallen out of fashion, but has recently started to find fans again thanks to films like Knives Out and the adaptations of the aforementioned Agatha Christie novels. It’s the type of mystery that isn’t so much concerned with the pathos and darkness of man but is more concerned with the twists and turns of history and how events play out in ways that lead to murder and eventually those murders being solved. Right off the bat, the reader is introduced to the main characters, and its their relationship that acts as the main vehicle for this story. Their banter and idiosyncrasies are what drive the plot, so it’s good that their interactions are good albeit a little saccharine. They bounce off each other well, but there isn’t much tension between them making their relationship come off as one-note. Where this issue really shines is how it is able to integrate a bunch of extra information and side stories into the main plot. Already by the end of the first issue, Gilt Frame has become a dense and complex story. Thanks to clever cut aways to scenes from turn of the century St. Louis, news articles, and auction listings, this issue has almost a scrap book feel to it, or possibly a dossier, which is the perfect tone for this story.
GOTTA LOVE THAT HAND-PAINTED LOOK
The art in Gilt Frame #1 is a wonderful combination of watercolor inspired coloring and deliberate sketchy lines. This gives the issue a look that is a cross between a travel diary and a courtroom sketch. This style adds to the mix between twee comedy and mystery that gets progressively more complex after each panel.
BOTTOM LINE: A LOVE LETTER TO CLASSIC MYSTERY
Gilt Frame #1 feels like you have just opened up one of those murder mystery games and have just dumped out all the pieces and need to start putting it all together. It’s the type of mystery that relies on the complexity of events as opposed to the complexity of characters. This has some drawbacks as while the plot is interesting, the characters are kind of flat and only time will tell if they ever get any more depth. Also, it should be noted that this is a double issue, which excuses the nearly ten-dollar price point. 4 out of 5 stars.
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Gilt Frame #1
Gilt Frame #1 is a good opening chapter to a mystery that, if this issue is any indication, will becomes a twisted and fascinating web of events and stories. There is a sort of inoffensive tone to the way all the characters interact though, leaving them coming off as shallow.
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Writing8
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Art8
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Coloring8
At a young age, Jonathan was dragged to a small town in Wisconsin. A small town in Wisconsin that just so happened to have a comic book shop. Faced with a decision to either spend the humid summers and bitter winters traipsing through the pine trees or in climate controlled comfort with tales of adventure, horror, and romance, he chose the latter. Jonathan can often be found playing video games, board games, reading comics and wincing as his “to watch” list grows wildly out of control.