Drafted #2
Written by Mark Powers
Art by Chris Lie
Colors by Joseph Baker
Letters by Brian J. Crowley
Devil’s Due Publishing
Cover price: $3.50; On-sale: Oct. 10, 2007

I’m not gonna tell you what happens in this comic. So let’s get that straight right away. I’m not going to cite specific story elements, I’m not going to reveal specific plot details. All you’re getting from me is this:

In issue #2 of Devil’s Due Publishing’s breakout series, Drafted, the story continues. The world reacts to the events of last issue, and mysteries begin to reveal themselves.

That’s it. That’s all you’re getting. Because to say more than that — to form even a paragraph-long generalization of the plot of the book would reveal, in my eyes, too much. Every scene, every exchange, every panel… is important.

What I will do is tell you what I thought of the issue (of the series as a whole, really). How I felt about it. And why you should be going and reading it yourself instead of trying to get me to do it for you.

So… what did I think of this issue? Well, since you asked, I liked it. A lot.

In fact, there’s a feeling growing in the pit of my stomach that feels something like LOVE… but it’s only just begun. I’ve only just closed the book. It’s too soon for superlatives, so let’s just start with “like.”

I like Drafted.

That way.

If I was to describe the manner in which the book unfolds… the way the story is revealed, one snippet of life at a time, it would probably leave most people with the impression that this is a slice-of-life genre comic in the vein of The Walking Dead.

While I certainly think that the first two issues of Drafted could easily stand beside the first two issues of The Walking Dead in quality, the comparisons would end there. This is not a slice-of-life comic. This is prime-time, must-watch TV in comic book form. This is a tightly written, expertly paced, piece of serialized drama. It is a comic that is built to be taken in, one episode at a time. Each beautifully rendered cover is like the opening credit montage of your favorite show. You look at them and you think, “Ooo… That looks cool. I wonder if that’ll happen this episode!” It gives you a taste of things to come, not in that single issue, but in the series as a whole.

In other words, writer Mark Powers and penciler Chris Lie do their job, and do it well.

All those years spent editing the books at Marvel have certainly paid off for Powers, as he seems to have a firm, steady grasp on all the essential elements of good storytelling. His dialogue is fluid and realistic. His characters, well-defined and engaging — made even more-so by Lie’s emotionally honest depictions.

The art in this book could, at a single glance, be described as simplistic, but on further inspection, you’d find a complex truth lying between those simple lines. This is not a flashy book. You won’t be dazzled by the amount of detail packed into a single two-by-three-inch panel, nor will you be able to lock yourself in your bathroom with a half-naked heroine whose bust line defies the laws of logic. What Chris Lie gives you is life, plain and simple. There are no complicated crosshatchings, only complicated emotions. Not as easy a feat as some might think.

There is only one criticism I could make about the book, and in truth it’s not even really a criticism (though, coming from another reviewer, it may be). Through the course of the story (all two-issues of it), you begin to realize that Powers’s perspective on the world is one of blatant optimism and hope. The sociopolitical implications of his world-under-siege alone borders on naivete, but he views everything through just sober-enough an eye to keep from crossing over to unbelievability.

(And in other news, I have just used the term “sociopolitical implications” in a comic book review. I *am* the “Watchmen” of reviewers…)

To all of this, of course, I say… why not? Why not show a world that is willing to embrace hope? Willing to put their differences aside and just be human? To say that such a thing is “unrealistic” is to pretty much guarantee that it will never *be* a reality. I, for one, am right there next to Powers, believing in humanity all the way.

…Aaaaannd now I’ve started drifting into the territory of philosophical debate, but what can I say? *That* is the effect the book has had on me. It doesn’t just entertain me, it makes me *think*. I hope Powers is proud of that. In just two issues, he has proven himself a talent worthy of high praise, and I can only hope that he maintains the same level of quality throughout the entirety of the series.

Devil’s Due has made their breakthrough and they need to shout it from the hills, far and wide… This book needs to be read. Whether you love it or hate it (because I’m sure there will be those opinions also), it *needs* to be read. Because wrapped in the dressings of a plot many will think we’ve all seen before, there hides something more… something unique… something special. And it deserves to be seen, no matter the outcome.

Hyperbole finished. Raving over.

Read the damn book.

Rating: A