by Chris Davidson
Jim McCann has been known for several of his works such as New Avengers: The Reunion and his Eisner award winning The Return of the Dapper, but what really sticks in my mind is Mind The Gap. And with the artwork primarily of Rodin Esquejo, Mind The Gap came together in 2012 through Image Comics.
Mind The Gap is essentially a murder mystery story without an actual murder; it’s currently up to issue 16 and has commenced its second story arc. It begins with a young girl named Elle Peterssen waiting for her train in the subway; she is viciously attacked, left unconscious on the ground, subsequently rushed to hospital and stuck in a coma.
We are quickly introduced to her best friend Jo Wilson, her boyfriend Dane Miller along with her family; Eddie her brother, Min her mother and Edward her father. Jo and Dane decide to take on detective duties to figure out why the attack has taken place while Elle’s family immediately come across as very shady with many secrets hidden.
Jim McCann has been known for several of his works such as New Avengers: The Reunion and his Eisner award winning The Return of the Dapper, but what really sticks in my mind is Mind The Gap. And with the artwork primarily of Rodin Esquejo, Mind The Gap came together in 2012 through Image Comics.
Mind The Gap is essentially a murder mystery story without an actual murder; it’s currently up to issue 16 and has commenced its second story arc. It begins with a young girl named Elle Peterssen waiting for her train in the subway; she is viciously attacked, left unconscious on the ground, subsequently rushed to hospital and stuck in a coma.
We are quickly introduced to her best friend Jo Wilson, her boyfriend Dane Miller along with her family; Eddie her brother, Min her mother and Edward her father. Jo and Dane decide to take on detective duties to figure out why the attack has taken place while Elle’s family immediately come across as very shady with many secrets hidden.
Elle was born into a very wealthy family, a business that seems to have been handed down generation to generation. Due to their wealth she has top medical cover and a lifelong doctor by the name of Dr Hammond; he himself seems to know more about Elle’s past than he is leading on.
As the characters go about their business Elle has awoken in her subconscious, and she is not alone.Instead her subconscious is filled with many other people that all seem to come from reality; possibly patients within the very same hospital she is sleeping in. Not only is Elle in a coma but within her subconscious she is unable to recollect who she is or any of her memories. She tries desperately to regain those memories to figure out why she is unconscious and unable to wake up.
This may be only McCann’s second original work but he seems to have mastered the art of storytelling. There is literally layer after layer of secrets to be explored and you think you have everything figured out when he suddenly drops another bombshell. As mentioned earlier McCann has moved the book into its second story arc and every flame of sensibility you think you have ignited is instantly extinguished and the characters worlds are turned upside down.
As the characters go about their business Elle has awoken in her subconscious, and she is not alone.Instead her subconscious is filled with many other people that all seem to come from reality; possibly patients within the very same hospital she is sleeping in. Not only is Elle in a coma but within her subconscious she is unable to recollect who she is or any of her memories. She tries desperately to regain those memories to figure out why she is unconscious and unable to wake up.
This may be only McCann’s second original work but he seems to have mastered the art of storytelling. There is literally layer after layer of secrets to be explored and you think you have everything figured out when he suddenly drops another bombshell. As mentioned earlier McCann has moved the book into its second story arc and every flame of sensibility you think you have ignited is instantly extinguished and the characters worlds are turned upside down.
I feel that a common theme McCann likes to bring forward is how power hungry humanity can be, that hunger can come in many different forms. There can be power through money, power through manipulation, power through blackmailing; it even goes so far as to show our thirst for controlling mankind’s future.
Esquejo provides exquisite art for the book; he originally provided and still is providing cover art for another book called Morning Glories. Generally when an artist transitions from cover art to a book’s ongoing artist the quality suffers. This simply boils down to the fact of (once again) time constraints, when a single page needs to be drawn within a month much time can be spent on it. If however there are 32 pages required to be drawn within a month, corners will need to be cut.
Somehow Esquejo manages to provide art that is almost identical to his cover work. Panels are drawn brightly with plenty of detail within; characters also look as they should from panel to panel with rarely any discrepancies. He also manages to present the actual panels in some very unique ways, especially when we are in Elle’s subconscious.
The book is currently available in 3 separate volumes which collect up to issue 15, considering that issue 16 only just came out it will be quite the lengthy wait for the next volume. The good news is you have plenty of time to catch up so If you find mysteries enjoyable this is a series you should certainly look into.
Esquejo provides exquisite art for the book; he originally provided and still is providing cover art for another book called Morning Glories. Generally when an artist transitions from cover art to a book’s ongoing artist the quality suffers. This simply boils down to the fact of (once again) time constraints, when a single page needs to be drawn within a month much time can be spent on it. If however there are 32 pages required to be drawn within a month, corners will need to be cut.
Somehow Esquejo manages to provide art that is almost identical to his cover work. Panels are drawn brightly with plenty of detail within; characters also look as they should from panel to panel with rarely any discrepancies. He also manages to present the actual panels in some very unique ways, especially when we are in Elle’s subconscious.
The book is currently available in 3 separate volumes which collect up to issue 15, considering that issue 16 only just came out it will be quite the lengthy wait for the next volume. The good news is you have plenty of time to catch up so If you find mysteries enjoyable this is a series you should certainly look into.
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