4 out of 5

Shutter is shaping up into an exciting book.  Keatinge and crew – according to the letters pages – rather purposefully just shunted us and lead character Kate through the random wringer for the first few issues before settling down into something perhaps a bit more linear; this was my main nit with the first arc, and something I was hoping would be addressed.  While issue 7 is still a bit calamitous, issue 8 shows us more direction along the hunt / discovery for / of Kate’s family, as well as allowing for a bit less forced character development (as in meaningful phrases tossed at the reader) by having dialogue stem from the events that have been rumbling past us at an insane pace.  And with book 8, since we’re in one spot for the majority of the issue, with no bogeyman jumping out of corners, Leila del Duca’s art really starts to shine, her figures and gestures telling me everything about who these people are.  There’s a lot going on, visually, in ‘Shutter,’ and del Duca’s been a champ for keeping up with it, but all of the newness wore on the eye a bit.  Similarly, while Owen Gieni has a wonderfully earthy tone to his colors versus the somewhat neon sheen of a lot of Image colorists, the need to differentiate between so much going-ons on cluttered pages distilled his skills – the better pacing in issue 8 again showcasing his talents instead of just barely allowing us to keep up with them.

I’m still uncertain about the ‘personalized’ elements of the book.  While I really, really like the design – the consistent back cover image, the full-bleed cover, the inside cover being the first page (thanks Tim Leong and Addison Duke) – the extra unrelated funnies in the back and the 4th-wall breaking blurbs on the back cover reeeally challenge the ability to get into the story.  Doesn’t affect my rating, just a personal thing.

Alas – and also not affecting my rating – this book is getting stripped out of my purchases as part or the great budgeting of 2015.  While I do think this primed to become one of the more rewarding Image books on the shelf (as I’ve lately been poo-pooing them for a lot of indie coolness with not equally rewarding content), I’m admittedly not too wrapped up in Kate’s tale that I feel the need to proceed.  Joe’s writing is fun, and I love that he’s letting his creativity go full bore on this series, but as I review the writing of his I own, it doesn’t really strike me in an emotional spot, which is sorta my criteria for a keeper.

Toots.