“The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys #1″

Have you ever wanted to like something, but, for the life of you, you just couldn’t? Yeah? Great, because that’s exactly how I feel about this comic. I’d imagine that if I were a big My Chemical Romance fan, this comic may appeal to me more than it does considering it’s a continuation of the concept/story found on the band’s final release, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. I, however, am not the biggest fan of My Chemical Romance and this comic feels more like a cash in of the band’s success and/or a love letter to fans by continuing the story concept from the last album.

I decided to check out this comic because of all the great things I’ve read about Gerard Way’s previous book, The Umbrella Academy. I mean, it won an Eisner Award for Best Finite Series/Limited Series, so I came into this comic hoping to find something new and different but ultimately ended up disappointed.

Gerard Way and Shaun Simon’s story is disjointed and not in the awesome Jonathan Hickman sort of way. For example, there’s a bit about some android prostitutes and one of their Johns that just seems so out of place and never fits in with the rest of the story even when you read the little glossary at the end of the issue. Personally, I didn’t find any of the characters to be likable, and they all pretty much have the depth of a puddle. Even with some of the most disjointed stories, I at least find one of the characters or the overall story to be intriguing, but with this story I’m just left going, meh. The only bit of writing, I liked came in the form of some stylish dialogue from the radio DJs playing over the main character’s boombox (pictured in the photo to the right).

If it weren’t for Becky Cloonan’s art, I’d say that this comic is a lost cause. The action scenes and the art in the last few pages, in particular, are fantastic. You can feel the tension/desperation in every panel. I haven’t seen much of her work, but from this book and her work on “Batman #12″ she is definitely an artist I plan to keep an eye on.

I’m not sure if this was just a bad start for this series or what, but at a price point of $3.99, if you’re not a die hard fan of My Chemical Romance or Gerard Way I’d keep an eye on reviews and wait for the trade.

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Joseph Torres, a mysterious character who aids the forces of law and order, is in reality, Lamont Cranston, wealthy young man-about-town. He is a Marvel News Reporter for Capeless Crusader and aspiring comic book writer. His favorite ‘Big 2′ comic book characters are Marvel’s Moon Knight and DC’s The Flash. If you want to reach him for something pertaining to reviews or comic news, or, heck, to argue who’d win in a fight between comic book characters you can contact him at jtorres3186@gmail.com