Review: FATHER’S DAY #1

26548FATHER’S DAY #1
Written by Mike Richardson
Art by Gabriel Guzman
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 22, 2014

Step into the middle of a dysfunctional family with the first issue of Father’s Day from Mike Richardson and Gabriel Guzman.

Richardson and Guzman tell the tale of a hitman who tried to turn clean after the birth of his daughter to protect his wife and daughter. This situation is fleshed out, mildly, through the use of stereotypical characters that, sadly, Richardson doesn’t dig too deep into in this first issue. The father is blindsided and protective, stoic and so ready to atone for his sins that it is hard to believe he was once a cold blooded killer. The daughter is a bitter teenager with a penchant for yelling, who is over her head and will inevitably get the duo into some trouble as the series moves forward. The two characters do not progress much from what I just stated over the course of the issue, and that is probably my biggest issue with the comic. By the end of the comic, I don’t care any more about these characters or their relationship than I did when I first saw the cover. While it is not poorly written, per se, it is so generic that the issue is not memorable in any way.

Gabriel Guzman’s art is decent, but as generic as the story. While the story is adequately told, there is little here that wowed me enough to return for issue #2. Neither of the primary characters own the page or gripped my attention and that is very telling for the comic as a whole. As the action of the series inevitably ramps up, hopefully Guzman can cut loose and really fire this book up.

Father’s Day #1 is a comic that is alright, but nothing exceptional. While the framework is there to build upon, I will admit I wanted something much less generic than what was written and penciled. Leaning on stereotypes can get readers up to speed to launch into something bigger, but when that execution is not performed correctly what is left is a bland tale waiting for a spark. Hopefully that spark comes very quickly, and Father’s Day blows up into something memorable.

The Verdict: 5.0/10

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