James O’Barr, creator of The Crow, is back with another new Crow miniseries. The Crow: Curare comes after the previous series, Skinning the Wolves, set the precedent that the spirit of the Crow need not always appear as a white-faced demon, and can instead serve as a more thematic presence. Curare continues that trend. Here’s the official description of Curare #1 from IDW:

Retired Detroit cop Joe Salk was a good cop, but after a little girl’s murder, his wife left him because of his obsession to find her killers. Now completely alone, his need for revenge might just be helped by the young victim, returned and empowered by the spirit of vengeance, the Crow…

O’Barr makes some fantastic changes to his writing style that mean Curare is an almost complete 180 from StW. Here, our protagonist is not the Crow or his host, but rather a normal person, whose life is ruined by the spirit’s constant pleas for justice. (This does raise a question: Usually, the Crow has no trouble seeking vengeance on its own. Why does it need help here?) O’Barr is much more subtle here than in the previous series. The Crow’s first appearance to Salk is genuinely terrifying, which is a direct result of the scene’s subtlety.

Another understated technique is a brilliant collaboration between O’Barr and artist Antoine Dodé. In several scenes, background elements are zoomed in on in subsequent panels, providing more context on the story for the careful observer. It’s smoothly done, and sits in contrast to the in-your-face tactics employed by many comics, including Skinning the Wolves.

Dodé’s art is sketchy, which reinforces the despair and frailty of the characters, and the seeming moral desolation of the landscape. A few panels are intentionally left with empty, white background, a technique which doesn’t quite succeed. The monochromatic color schemes underline the noir aspect and simultaneously distinguish past from present.

If there’s anything about this issue than really fails, it’s the dialogue, which is too hard, fast, and clean. Responses that are meant to be intense come across as ridiculous, and some of the one-liners and rants feel like they came from a bad movie.

In spite of the dialogue, however, The Crow: Curare #1 is great read that has completely changed my outlook on the Crow going forward. I can’t recommend it enough.

4.5/5

Zac’s super excited because he just remembered there’s a CoCo-Ichibanya Curry House in L.A. that he can eat at when he flies out for SDCC. Follow him on twitter.