‘Cap Stone #1’ Review

Written by Christina McCormack & Liam Sharp | Art by Liam Sharp | Published by Titan Comics | Format: Paperback, 32pp

In this issue, we’re introduced to Charlie Chance, also known by her vampire fiction pen name Vincent Van Goth. She’s also the daughter of Lord Charles Chance, also known as the ‘Craven Panther’ for cat burgling antics. From the age of 6, Charlie was his accomplice, but eventually turned away to pursue modelling and rampant vegetarianism. While her dreams are dark and bloody, she’s living the life… until she learns something life changing.

You might notice that I’ve not once mentioned the titular character in that description. That’s because he’s only mentioned on the last page and in the made up interview on the last few pages, which was kind of cool, I guess. To be honest, it’s not made the biggest impression on me, but I know that my opinion on this isn’t exactly universal.

Take the artwork. To me most of it is unimpressive and unattractive; I think campy is the word I would choose, although there are some beautiful pages throughout, like when Charlie is showering (no gratuitous breast show thankfully). However, when I showed my housemate, an artist working on their own comic book, they had the complete opposite reaction. They loved the artwork, calling it ‘stylistic and abstract’, and took a good while just appreciating the artwork and the stylistic choices that an artist would appreciate more than a consumer like myself).

Story wise I’m fifty-fifty on what I think of it. It’s well written, and the main character is written in an engaging manner, but I’m unfortunately one of those old fashioned types who thinks if your comic book has a character name in the title you should include them in the first issue. That being said, I liked the cliffhanger ending, and I’m interested in Charlie and what is seemingly an inevitable use of her cat burgling skills.

So I’m a little stumped how to rate Cap Stone #1. As a simple reader, it’s pretty average. I’m interested in seeing where the story goes and how the characters develop, but the art turns me off a little and just didn’t make me want to finish. But I already have dissenting opinion from a trusted source from an artist’s point of view, and I do appreciate the writing style, so I think the only fair way to rate this is straight down the middle, but I’ll be reading next issue for sure.

*** 3/5