DOCK WALLOPER #1

CWR BLOG EXTRA

Latest in Virgin Comics line of Hollywood director-created comics is DOCK WALLOPER, from the mind of Ed Burns and written by Burns and comics stud Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by Siju Thomas. Burns has made his movie career based on films about schlub New Yorkers who can’t get their shit together when it comes to women and who need to drink and navel gaze a bit less. So the premise of WALLOPER comes as a bit of a surprise; set in Depression era New York, it follows the trials and tribulations of two unusual friends: John “The Hand” Smith, a bruiser whose right hand is much bigger than his left, and his best friend and fellow orphan, Bootsy.

In the first issue, the duo manages to fall under the good graces of an Irish gangster thanks to a timely bit of saving their own asses from a hit by a rival Italian ganglord. Thus, even though the Irish (being thorough racists) would prefer to not have Bootsy around, they are stuck with him for the moment thanks to Smith’s loyalty to his friend. But as the pair moves upward through the ranks, you can bet that temptations galore will work to tear the two apart, beginning with their first taste of actual money.

Actually, I suppose that could lead to Burns getting back to telling a tale about schlub New Yorkers who can’t get their shit together and need to drink less, but in a different format and era. But either way, this is actually quite a bit more appealing than a lot of his film work; the characters are interesting, the dialogue is crisp (something I’d bet good money is attributable to Jimmy), and Thomas does a nice job of depicting the era’s clothing, architecture, and colors.

Mind you, it isn’t a rocket science debut, but it is done well enough to merit a continued look (or at least a reading of the inevitable collection). If there’s one thing I know, it’s that Jimmy P. makes damned good comics, and his involvement here was reassuring from the time the book was announced.

/Mason