Bang! #1 Review
By Nolan P Smith
We all love a great spy story. The suave and charismatic super spy, the beautiful women, the intrigue and danger- they captivated us on film, on the television, novels, comic books, and more. It is the fictional character life to live until it’s not, and it’s over with a bang. Welcome to a new kind of spy, welcome to Bang! Spoilers abound!
From Dark Horse Comics, this new take on the super spy archetype comes to us from Matt Kindt, Wilfredo Torres, Nayoung Kim, and Nate Piekos. Thomas Cord is the spy of all spies, and we see about his predicament in a text piece before the story kicks off. We find our protagonist in hot water as he faces certain death from Goldmaze, a global criminal organization that Cord has been trying to infiltrate. After managing to escape, Cord comes face to face with the beautiful Fanny aboard a boat, and that’s when she ends his life. Wait; what?
That’s right, Cord- the older Caucasian spy, meets his end. Enter Thomas Cord- a young African American spy. He is the Thomas Cord- memories and all. Makes sense? It will. Cord gets distracted to find an author who’s novels might contain secrets to bring down Goldmaze, but what he finds is a rabbit hole. The book ends with a cliffhanger that ties that author closely to Cord’s existence. We even get a post text about Fanny, and how MI-X agents take her in for torture after killing the previous Thomas Cord.
Kindt’s stories always have more than meets the eye, so to have him writing a spy story is extremely exciting and fitting. Torres and the team come through on beautiful art that fits the tone of the story perfectly, telling this tale of danger and suspense with a variety of panel layouts and fantastic detail to expressions.
This debut issue really pulled me in, but that usually happens with books written by Kindt. Bang! will take you by surprise, flipping the genre on its head while paying respects to what came before it. I am thoroughly impressed with Bang! And I eagerly await the next issues.
Rating: 9.0 out of 10.
Nolan P. Smith is the Editor and Co-Founder of Pastrami Nation. Being a reporter for the past ten years, he has worked for a variety of media outlets, from newsprint to the ever-evolving internet platform. Residing in Victorville, CA, writing has always been a significant aspect of his life. You can usually find him at comic book conventions, looking for more amazing books to dive into, or at the gym at odd times of the night. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter @nolanpsmith, and Instagram @kakooee.