We all have “strings” that tie us to other people. It’s just that Yoon-Sook can see them… and it’s not always a blessing. Your Major Spoilers review of String #1 from Mad Cave Studios awaits!
STRING #1
Writer: Paul Tobin
Artist: Carlos Javier Olivares
Colorist: Sara Colella
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Editor: James B. Emmett
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: November 13, 2024
Previously in String: Yoon-Sook Namgung is a 25-year-old Korean-American woman with the remarkable ability to see two types of “strings” connecting various people. The first is blue and stretches between sexual partners; the second, black, connects murderers and their victims. If you have a murder that needs solving, Yoon can help. Worried your partner is cheating on you? Yoon can literally SEE the connections. Yoon’s life (for all the drama and constant “TMI”) is good, at least until the day she notices the worst possible black string of all.
“THAT WEIRD CHICK IS HERE!”
String #1 opens with a rather unusual hostage situation, as a man whose body is covered in explosives screams and throws a dog at a young woman with pink hair. A few hours earlier, we are shown that woman Yoon-Sook, arriving at the Seattle P.D. North Precinct, calmly walks through rooms, and the conversation dies immediately at her sight. EVERYONE gives her the side-eye, but she makes her way to her meeting with Detective Luke Mayfield, the officer she has been assigned as a “civilian consultant.” Dealing with everyone’s discomfort remarkably well, Ms. Namgung and Detective Mayfield go to lunch together, as he tries to investigate the reasons for her ostracism. Yoon-Sook explains that she can see the “strings” that connect people, which makes everyone uncomfortable, especially the police, as many of them worry that she will see black strings indicating that they’re murderers. She admits that it doesn’t work that way, as her strange ability only recognizes actual instances of full-on murder. She can also see the blue strings that means two people have had sex, which makes Mayfield’s life complicated, as she unwittingly tells them that their girlfriend is also sleeping with the electrician in their office. It’s… awkward.
JUST PLAIN GORGEOUS
Full disclosure: This book wasn’t even on my radar this week, and I only encountered it by accident while I was purchasing the book I had intended to review today. The beautiful cover, with its vivid colors, immediately caught my eye, and by the time I had read the issue, I knew I was changing up my review. This is a VERY good first issue, hopefully indicating that an equally inspired series is to follow. The trope of “In Media Res” opening, followed by the flashback, is common enough that it has become a cliche, but Tobin’s script handles it perfectly. Much of the issue is a conversation between Namgung and Mayfield, wherein she explains what her unusual vision is like and how it works, but rather than feeling overly expositional, it comes across as two people getting to know one another. Yoon-Sook’s gentle humor makes her dialogue a lot of fun, while Mayfield plays off her perfectly. A moment wherein she sees the MANY blue strings emanating from Mayfield, and they joke about whether she can see what actually happened, is among my favorites, mostly because it’s not entirely work-appropriate and thus implies that the duo are already becoming friends. The art is equally skilled, with a truly inspired action sequence suddenly bursting into being when she sees a black string. The chase leads them to the point where the issue opens, and the layouts are wonderfully cinematic throughout.
BOTTOM LINE: IMMEDIATELY CAUGHT MY ATTENTION
The vivid coloring of String #1 makes the art even more attractive, an important reminder that the medium of comics is a collaborative one, and shows a creative team that knows exactly what they want on the page, earning a dead-solid 5 out of 5 stars overall. It’s been a while since an issue so completely captured my attention, and this one’s combination of a premise with lots of potential, a charismatic protagonist, a shocking last-page development, and truly beautiful coloring and art is well worth picking up.
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STRING #1
The art and coloring combine for something that feels fresh and unique, while Yoon-Sook's story (and her wry personality) are instantly engaging and weird.
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Writing10
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Art9
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Coloring10
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.