Another week, another launch from the Eye of the Storm imprint, with Black Sun.  And again, although the "mature readers" imprint allows for the inclusion of a (not particularly graphic) sex scene, there's nothing in tone which particularly distances this comic from the mainstream.

Arguably this is a good thing - I've always felt that "mature readers" in comics has been a horribly misused term.  It's been appropriated to mean either "porn" or "mild arthouse" depending on whether you're reading Eros or Vertigo, when in reality most adults aren't all that interested in arthouse (whether in comics or in any other medium) and have their porn requirements amply met elsewhere.  Mainstream mature readers comics which make no pretension to using the label as anything other than an 18 certificate are by no means a bad idea.  Automatic Kafka aside, that seems to be the way Eye of the Storm is heading.

Anyhow, Black Sun is an action comic set in Hong Kong, with mystical elements.  Police officer Maggie Sun is our hero and, you guessed it, she's a tough cookie who takes no nonsense from anyone and feuds with her superior (who, in a twist on the formula, is her father).  Maggie is set up as the classic tomboy.  The book bends over backwards to emphasise how very much she is unlike the stereotypical submissive Asian woman.  Her boyfriend even gets a speech about the gender reversal in their relationship in case you hadn't got the point.

Sarcasm aside, she's a likeable if somewhat generic lead character for an action story.  The story is a solidly constructed affair, studiously introducing the cast and laying out the plot in nice straightforward terms.  It's nothing that would seem particularly out of the ordinary in any medium other comics, and it's perfectly entertaining on an action movie level.

Art comes from Trevor Scott, whose work isn't really to my tastes.  It lapses sporadically into a degree of cartooning distortion that goes a bit far for this sort of story, and there are a couple of moments where the visual storytelling breaks down badly with very strangely placed panels.  Udon are colouring, and they've opted for a very dark and subdued palette that leaves some scenes a bit too murky.  Overall, it's not a look that works for me.

Okay, and it's filling a gap in the market, but not particularly outstanding.

Rating: B

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