There’s twists, cliffhangers, and a little bit of bloodshed, all wrapped up in some snide political and social commentary.

Comic Review

Title: The Homeland Directive

Writer: Robert Venditti

Artist: Mike Huddleston

Publisher: Top Shelf Comics

Page Count: 152 pages

Release: May 2011

Reviewed By Richard Lam

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

The ‘thriller’ has many subgenres, and most are familiar to us. There’s the conspiracy theory story, with a man or woman unwittingly stumbling upon some bundle of information, much to the chagrin of the government or other institution. And then there’s the plague or epidemic thriller, with a mad dash to stop some sort of virus from spreading to worldwide chaos. But how often have you seen these two been mashed together?

Dr. Laura Regan is a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, giving a talk on viruses and bacteriological study, when she is approached by a bald, red-nosed detective. He shows her a photo of her research partner, murdered, and asks her to come with her. But before they can reach the car, they are jumped and Regan is kidnapped. Only these aren’t the bad guys. These are rogue FBI agents. And they think the United States government wants to have her killed.

Who can Regan trust? Why is everyone after her? How is it related to an unidentified disease that seems to be spreading erratically throughout the country? It’s a constant cat-and-mouse chase, pursuees trying to keep ahead of the pursuers, without necessarily even knowing why they’re being pursued. And yet, the action is surprisingly restrained. Venditti’s writing is more interested in the words said behind closed doors. Sure, there’s a few firefights, but much of the comic is high-level, expository-free dialogue, as if you were just eavesdropping on the most hush-hush of conversations. No easy answers. Think The Wire with an espionage angle.

Mike Huddleston's art is a mish-mash of styles, from the faded, gray and muted tones of whitehouse discussions, to the bright splashes of colour at a gala event. For the dialogue-heavy scenes, visuals are laid bare, often without backgrounds of any sort, just talking bodies. But during any extended action sequence or silent stretch, the art takes over, with sharp blood-red lines, shadows and detail. Soft brush strokes clashing with harsh, angular pixellated dots. It’s a fine balancing act of pulpy, cartoony, and downright moody. Not always successful, but never dull to look at.

It’d be unfair to spoil any more of the book. There’s twists, cliffhangers, and a little bit of bloodshed, all wrapped up in some snide political and social commentary. There are scenes that appear to take place entirely separate from the central storyline, only to have their significance revealed by the end. A well-written, well-executed work. As a stand-alone story, it isn’t as strong or fully-formed as Venditti’s masterwork The Surrogates, but it’s still a solid piece of genre comics. Or, rather, genre-mashing.

Written by :

richard.l.lam