2 out of 5

This really isn’t a great comic.  But I respect the desire behind its creation, as I respect Renegade Entertainment’s in-house gusto… and the integrity burbling ‘neath these two components gives the one-shot a readability that compliments William Simpson’s professionally sloppy style.  ’24 Hours’ is, apparently, a movie written and directed by Finbow.  I haven’t seen it, but the screencaps and shoot-shoot-pun nature of the comic makes me believe it probably has a similarly low-rent kinda’ vibe to it, well-intentioned but something of a misfire.  In a post-comic note, Finbow explains that the comic is an alternate take on the movie – it sounds like the flick had something of a final ending, and was perhaps more noirish in its one-bad-turn-deserves-another plot setup, whereas the comic is a bit more focused on a small cache of characters and one event and leaves things open for a sequel… which is coming out in comic form.  The book is normal length, so it doesn’t have enough room for establishing much in terms of character; our two lead assassins, tasked with a kill-order to correct a previous mistake, are just sketches of hardass types.  I can’t really remember their names.  Simpson doesn’t seem too stuck to trying to render recognizable actors (again, based on the screencaps), but his figures still have that kind of stiff look to them.  However, he sets up some nice chaos and flying bullets, and the last two-thirds of the book – an extended shootout – are fun in a crass, stylized way.  But the style can’t carry the few “serious” plotting moments that exist.

Still, it’s cool that Finbow felt inspired enough to offer this alternate take, and I am interested to see if the intended followup – which won’t be limited by its pairing with another medium – will feel a bit more natural in comic form.