Review - Tommy Gun Wizards #1 (@DarkHorseComics)

"Ladies and gentlemen. This is not out America."

Gangsters deal in all sort of illicit materials, primarily because of basic economic principles such as supply and demand. In Tommy Gun Wizards #1 from Dark Horse Comics, gangsters also deal in magic. The issue is written by Christian Ward, illustrated by Sami Kivelä, colored by Ward (with Dee Cunniffe) and lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Ethaou.

Eliot Ness and his team of Untouchables work overtime taking on dangerous criminals that hide in the seedy underbelly of 1930s Chicago. Except in this world, Al Capone isn't dealing in alcohol, but in magic. With Lick, a drug that grants magical powers to anyone who ingests it, mobsters become wizards, ordinary men become monsters, and darker secrets than Ness can imagine lie at the heart of it all.

The most noticeable thing about Ward's script is how lived-in the world being crafted feels. There's a known history between Elliot Ness and Al Capone that Ward is working off of, which proves extremely advantageous in terms of parlaying that history into a new twist with the introduction of magic. Capone was a beast of a crime-lord back in the day so basing the story around his trafficking in magic in addition to all the other illegal activities makes him that much more interesting. Ward also doesn't let the book fall into the hard-boiled noir trap; that is, the dialogue feels contemporary yet appropriate all things considered. There are some issues with pacing and flow, as the order of some events are purposefully disorganized for the purpose of storytelling, but there is some disjointedness in moving from one scene to the next.

There's a touch of nostalgia in Kivelä's artwork, in that the characters all have a certain gruffness to them that demonstrates the restrictiveness of the mediums at the time. That is to say, Kivelä draws upon inspiration of the newspaper comic strips of days past to add even more atmosphere to the book and make sure it feels appropriate to the era it's representing. Kivelä's characters are drawn with an eye for the times as the players all sport looks that convince the reader that Ness and his crew for instance are hard-charging detectives who've seen a lot in the streets. There's a dizzying array of panel layouts throughout the issue that helps up the tempo during certain scenes, moving from calm to frenetic quite frequently. The colors by Ward and Cunniffe are very earthy in their tones, underscoring the connection between magic and the Earth itself.

Tommy Gun Wizards #1 is a pretty brilliant concept when you think about it. An aura of intensity has always been attached to Elliot Ness for his fearlessness in going up against whomever, so taking someone like Al Capone and having him deal in illegal magics really ups the stakes quite a bit in their rivalry. Ward's script is engaging and entertaining, effectively laying the groundwork for the remainder of the issues as the two main characters square off against one another. Kivelä's art style is appropriate considering the history of the characters involved, setting up an atmosphere from a different era rather effortlessly. Tommy Gun Wizards #1 is a lot of fun and starts off strong as a new premise.

Tommy Gun Wizards #1 is available August 28.