The Cross Bronx #1 (of 4)
Published by: Image
Writer: Michael Avon Oeming & Ivan Brandon
Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
Colorist: Nick Filardi
Cover: Michael Avon Oeming/Esad Ribic
Letterer: Kristyn Ferretti

Rating: 5 out of 5

As i mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve been on kind of a crime-story kick when it comes to comics, but truth be told, the reason I picked this up was Oeming’s name on the cover. I’ve been catching up on his Powers material through the hardcover collections (the second one comes out this fall!), and it’s amazing stuff, so I picked this up on a whim.

Where to start? Oeming and Brandon have come up with what seems to be a strong story that just sucks you in. The pacing in this issue is brilliant, ranging from 12 panels to a page in the most dense and nerve-wracking scene with the creepy old lady, to a full two-page spread for the most horribly graphic moment in the book.

Oeming’s art is spot-on. It’s aptly dark and a bit cartoony like his Powers work, but you feel like it’s still so eerily realistic, that it’s perfect.

There is definitely a mystery here waiting to be solved. Sometimes hints seem a little too obvious, but I fully expect a plot twist to take all of the things that we thought were going to happen, and mix them up and spit them back at us like so many bullets of vengeance.