3 out of 5

There’s a learning curve to artist Frédéric Bézian’s dashed, swooping style, but once you get a feeling for his pantomime and exaggerated characteristics, the look is a perfect match for the engrossing murder mystery of Dr. Radar.  A mystery that, unfortunately, becomes almost immediately uninteresting once motivations are revealed, prior to rushing us into a forced and unsatisfying to-be-continued (in other Dr. Radar “adventures”).  Prior to that, we get 3/4ths of a solid, fun and pulpy fisticuffs-laden tale.

Several scientists, all with connecting research on a particular subject matter, have been showing up dead – ruled accidental deaths – under somewhat questionable circumstances.  A rich playboy likes to play amateur Holmes, and starts tracking down the links between what he’s sure are murders, a path which intertwines him with a resourceful painter.  The duo proceed to investigate as a pair, much to the chagrin of the befuddled police, and are able to track things down to a Doctor Radar, a slippery eel of a villain who doffs disguise after disguise to move in and out of the places he needs to be.

Author Noël Simsolo crisply balances cluework and adventure with witty dialogue and repartee, and Bézian’s Francovilla-ish use of pop colors, combined with that aforementioned dashed, energetic style, makes the book a breezy and engaging read.

But whether due to translation, a bit of difficulty with identifying characters via the sketchy art, or just clumsy scripting, some plot hiccups start to pop up in issue two, causing the reader – me, at least – to pause and wonder about the logic everyone is following, but the energy is still there to keep things shuttling along.  Alas, these cracks finally give way under a big ol’ ‘why this is happening’ explanation, and then things are fully toppled when a later reveal seems rather silly considering how Radar’s character is presented – as a man of mystery – throughout the story.

In movie terms, this would be a rental.  Simsolo is a pretty well known French author, apparently, but this would seem to be his first translated comic.  Dr. Radar is definitely worthwhile enough that I’d be interested for Titan to translate more, but the lack of a satisfying ending to this tale definitely sets my expectations a certain way.