Williams, Dylan – Reporter #4

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Reporter #4 Now Available! $3

Note from 7/7/02: I’m a moron. I read some of the other issues and this issue makes perfect sense to me now. I’m just going to leave this review up in case anybody out there thinks that I know what I’m talking about. This should disprove that theory…

If there was one name that was repeated to me over and over again from all corners of the small press world, it was Dylan Williams. Everybody said that I just had to put him on my page, that his Reporter series was possibly the best mini going (depending on who you ask). So, naturally, I had extremely high expectations for this, and I’m sorry to say that they weren’t met, at least not in this issue. It’s the story of an armored car robbery, with a slight twist: it’s a silent issue. The previous silent comics that I’ve seen were pretty slow and the silence accentuated the mood. It’s a bold move to make an issue about a robbery silent, but it just didn’t work for me. I read it twice today and I still don’t know exactly what happened. I think I finally figured out where everybody involved is now and some of what happens, but it’s still kind of a blur. Were parts of it flashbacks? Which parts? There aren’t any breaks, and it’s really hard to tell what’s happening when. I feel like there’s one simple element that I’m missing to bring the whole thing together, but until I figure that out this issue is going to remain a disappointment. Keep in mind, though, that I’m still going to buy the other issues of this series, mostly because everybody thinks so highly of him. And, I feel obligated to point out again that I’m the only person out there who doesn’t think of this guy as the Jesus of the small press scene, and that’s based on one short, silent issue. To say that he’s not worth checking out is ridiculous. All I’m saying is that this isn’t the issue to start with. If I experience a moment of absolute clarity and this whole thing comes together, I’ll let you know and apologize for being a moron. Until then, go with one of the earlier issues and see what you think. E-mail the man or send him $3 for a sample issue at: PO Box 10952 Portland, OR 97296-0952.