3 out of 5

It goes from typical to atypically kooky to silly and then back to a fully realized drama.  Obviously that makes it an uneven read, for sure, but ‘Stalkers’ is the kind of stuff I trust in Atomeka Publishing for, these creator-owned weirdities that might not be great but feel… intentional.  Like no one’s pushing for a page count or to add this or minus that, so this story gets to be what Verheiden wanted.  Now I haven’t read the maxi-series that preceded this (though now I plan to), so I can’t speak to what was pre-established, but we get a little interior cover blurb that sets the stage, and it’s really all you need: it’s the near future, and everything’s for sale, privately run – energy, industry, military, ‘even Law and Order.’  There’s a bit of grey area on this, as there appears to be a police force that responds to the what’s what of the contents without anyone directly paying for their services, but whatever.  It’s a niggling detail that doesn’t distract and is probably (hopefully?) clarified in the maxi.  Our titular Stalkers are a government for-hire SWAT team.

Matt Raines leads a particular division of Stalkers, and finds himself conflicted when businessman Peter Lencov debuts his new resort and ends up being taken hostage by a bunch of old-timers.  This is a scenario where the Stalkers would step in, but Matt decides to go by the book and waits to be ‘hired’ for the job… as Lencov paid for his resort by swindling many out of their savings.  The old-timers taking him hostage, and Raines father, who committed suicide as a result.  Chapter 1 and 2 play this out pretty soberly.  D’Israeli’s blocky forms are sometimes mismatched with the neon painted palette that pops up for some scenes, but otherwise there’s a consistency here that is lost in some of his other work, along with a definite focus on defining these characters through their look.  It’s a bit obvious at times – Raines boss the simple-headed no-b.s. man, the high-falutin’ Lencov, the dumbass jock Stalker fodder – but it doesn’t prevent him from giving each figure their due.  When the retirees take over toward the end of chapter one, the book gets a fun little jolt of oddity, but this wavers in chapter two and three as Verheiden draws out some drama / commentary regarding the nature of business and money and sacrifice.  The story threatens to collapse when Raines has to make a manly man decision about whether to do his Stalker duty or stand by and let Lencov perish, but Verheiden surprises with some chapter 4 touches of humanity – just a couple dashes that aren’t expected based on the story’s structure, and thus make the overall arc more purposeful.

I’m not sure I’ll ever agree with the whole karma’s a bitch thing, ’cause karma is just as much subject to perception as anything else, but the roundabout coda is well executed and doesn’t feel like a cheat.

Packaged in the same kinda flimsy prestige pages as A1 vol. 2, Stalkers gets a bright printing and is easy to flip through.  Look past the murky cover for a worthwhile read.