Pham, John – EPOXY #1

Website

reviewed by Jason Dupuis

EPOXY #1

When I saw John Pham’s Epoxy in my local comic shop, I didn’t think much of it. It looks like a comic from a major publisher. It has a glossy, color gatefold cover, which sports a giant robot destroying some metropolis. The high production value, I later found out, is due to a grant from the Xeric Foundation. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up if it weren’t in the independent comics section. As soon as I got a look at the artwork, I was hooked. This comic is beautifully rendered. The characters are drawn with soft lines and the backgrounds range from very intricate to empty space. I took it home and read it right away. This comic is huge. It’s 64 pages long. Yet, I was sad when I finished it. I wanted more right away. It contains three stories: Shiva, Modesto and Elephantine. The latter was definitely my favorite. It gives the reader a glimpse of the quietly sad life of a one-armed, bare-knuckle boxer. Shiva features a robot boy named Nikolas, being chased over the rooftops of a large city by a dragon. But Pham doesn’t hit you over the head with panic and action. Instead, he allows us into the mind of Nikolas as he calmly worries about everyday life. Modesto is a subdued look at life in the suburbs for a unique young woman named Olive. The beauty of this book is its subtlety. Pham won me over with this first installment.

$3.95 Epoxy Press P.O. Box 361135 Los Angeles, Ca 90036 epoxypress@aol.com

Website!