Sanction #1 Review

We get introduced to two main characters early on: Detective Pavel Smirnoff and Detective Boris Dimitrovich. They seem like they're sort of opposite character types, but will be forced to work together to solve this case.

Detective Smirnoff has that typical, standoff-ish detective vibe that you see in a lot of crime stories. I'm appreciative that he isn't the main character because the rough a

Boris seems like he has gotten a reputation for either being a screw-up or not letting things go and getting sidetracked. Whatever it is, it's not a positive reputation.

Overall this issue was mostly setup, establishing how we can expect our characters to react in various situations.

The art was good. I don't think there was anything outstanding about it, but it certainly didn't take away from the book. I do think the strong point of the art was the scenery - January in Stalingrad can't possibly be a warm and comfy place and that comes across here.

The colors were good, but again, did not blow me away. I'm not sure that the bleakness of a Russian winter really came across in the colors. I appreciated the instances of red being used as an accent color playing off the monotone colors behind it.

The letters were not very inventive or creative. In terms of creating a good reading flow, the letters were executed well, but in providing the characters a distinct voice; that didn't come across.

I gave this 3.5 out of 5 stars, as most of it was above average, but not far above average.

Overall, this is worth looking into as Fawkes does some good character work and I think it's just enough to get me interested in reading issue #2.

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