Last Wish #1

Posted: Tuesday, August 7, 2001
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Last Wish #1 Creator(s): Adam Berenstain
Publishers: Self Published
From: USA
Price: $3.00 (US)

Relationships between friends, family, events past and future. These are the building blocks of Adam's thoughtful character study. Moses Frey is in the process of breaking up with his current girlfriend. This spurs him to reflect on his past relationships, and what he recalls of akward moments with his parents and prvious breakups is as uncomfortable for the reader as it is for him.

Adam does well to prevent the plot from falling into over emotional psycho drama, instead he manages to present a character whose inability to articulate his emotions is almost understandable. Not that we can sympathize totally with Moses, his coldness seems too calculated for that. His budding attempts at film making reflect this need for control over people and in telling their stories. You get the sense that as much as he keeps replying the events of his own live, he can't come up with the directors cut of his life so far.

Adam has constructed an intriguing narrative out of the interplay of flashbacks and present day events. This structure tends to be slightly confusing in parts as Adam doesn't always clearly signal the transitions between scenes. His artwork is a pleasure to look at, with what looks to be brushed ink working well to give the whole work a sombre atmosphere. Wrapped as it is in a striking cover illustrated cover and top notch production, this is an impressive start to what promises to be a strong title. Pick it up now so when Adam gets picked up by one of the classy alternative publishers, you can say you where there when it all started.

In a Word: Complex.



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