Alan Robert’s Wire Hangers #2

Life of Agony bassist Alan Robert becomes a comic book creator with his inaugural work, Wire Hangers. This four part series is a dark tale of conspiracies, vigilantes, cops, feds, homeless freaks, nosey reporters and gore. Alan Robert is the writer and artist of this twisted series.

The artwork stands out immediately. The book is drawn to be admired. Reminiscent of Ben Templesmith, the pages become a character all their own. The art is a murky and wild, capturing the chaotic and sinister tone of the story. Smartly placed lighting effects give life to the panels and catches the readers’ eye. There are weaknesses in Robert’s skills. Certain characters are disproportionate and he seems unable to capture some action movements .

The story is picking up the pace and the characters, stilted and cliqued in the first issue, are getting a life and voice of their own. The story continues to unfold the bizarre Suicide King Killings. A reporter is taken captive by a mysterious homeless man who seems to know about a yet unrevealed conspiracy. A broken cop refuses to accept the spoon fed leads given to him by men in black suits. Glimpses of a man pulling all the strings are alluded to, but nothing is totally clear at this point.

Wire Hangers is 32 pages of advertisement-free twisted fun. Alan Robert shows off some bad-ass comic book making skills. It’s not perfect, but it’s keeping my interest.

3.5 out of 5