Krystal #1
Story and Letters by Jaymes Reed
Pencils by Rob Baumer
Inks by Travis Stephens
Colors by NichX
Cover by Brock L. Hor, Jr.
IK Comics
Cover Price: $1.00; Available Now

Krystal isn’t for me, pure and simple. From the get-go, if you’re one of those people who have been getting on everyone’s nerves complaining about how women are somehow wrongly portrayed in comics for male gratification, you will probably not love this comic book, then again, maybe you can use it as therapy and move on to the next argument on your list or just find some comics you do like to read and leave us to our complaint-free reading.

The reason Krystal isn’t for me is mainly the fact that I do not like Rambo. It’s true. Now I realize that my distaste for a cult film like Rambo might be viewed by some as bad taste but in truth, I don’t really care. I do not like Rambo and i find it hard to like any Ramboesque type character. In comics, the medium being so varied, it’s easy to create any type of story imaginable, it’s a perfect way to give in to the imagination and try to make people enjoy the reality you build. It’s quite amazing to be able to draw people into your world and share your stories in a way that’s accessible to most, so, from that point of view Krystal does it’s job, I just don’t think it does it well enough.

We start off by actually meeting Krystal who looks nothing like Sylvester Stallone, thank god, she could however play most of his characters I’m guessing. When we first make her acquaintance, she’s busting some guy who’s apparently robbing a convenience store and it’s quite convenient that she’s there to stop him. She manages to do so until another guy shows up, makes the convenience store look like Ba’qubah on a bad day and things just start to roll from there, only you can’t really see where they’re rolling as clearly as you might like to.

Sometimes, be it in comics, film, novels, etc, the reader is kept in the dark for a reason and they know they’re being kept in the dark and that there is a point for it. Krystal either tries to use that mechanism or fails to explain what’s going on clearly and the doubt in my mind affected my enjoyment. It seems unfinished, like a few more pages would have done it some good. The dialogue seems fine for the most part except for to panels where some phrases just seem badly uttered. The action it-self looks good I have to admit, you have a little bit of everything, Rambo knifes, guns, Michael Bay explosions, you have it all, plus the art, even though it’s not really to my taste, is good and will be enjoyable to most people.

There is not a lot else I can say, I’m hoping that the next issue pulls it all together somehow or that at least it provides a good reason for people to want to get involved in the plot a little bit more.

So, if you like strong women with guns who talk like Stallone playing Rambo, here you go and enjoy, if you like good art there is a reason to buy this, if you like to be engaged in a plot then maybe turn to something else and if you’re a complainer then eyes forward and keep on moving.

Krystal #1 is available exclusively as a download from IK Comics.