Stephens, Craig – Blue Collar #1

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Blue Collar #1

Ah, another #1 from somebody I’ve never heard of. Actually, Craig has a strip in the back of the book where he mentions that this is his first comic, so that helps explain why I’ve never heard of him. As for the comic, for a first effort, it’s pretty good. The dialogue was a bit too “comic-booky” at times (a quick definition of that, for those of you who think I’m just making stuff up, is dialogue that sounds like it would never come out of the mouth of a real human being), but that’s a minor complaint and usually something that gets worked out in a few issues. He sent me #2 with this and says that #3 is on the way, so chances are he’s already worked through that. Stories in here include a mooching roomate, Mean Muggin’, a tramp breaking up a band, the supervillain known as the Old Geezer, and the Negotiators. That last one was a pretty innovative story, all about a class of people whose sole purpose is to, of all things, negotiate their way out of trouble. One of them decides, after everything is pretty much settled on his world, to go somewhere else and see if he can help some other people. I’m curious to see where he’s headed with this, as this continues in the next issue and has some potential. Overall, some interesting concepts and a pretty good looking book. Here’s a website, this one is $3.