Right now I am in the midst of catching up with books, with one such book being Crosswind. I’d heard nothing but rave reviews about the series so I had to see this for myself. Gail Simone is a favorite writer of mine and somehow this managed to slip past me. Even with knowing the little bits I’d heard about it, I’m coming into this with fresh eyes. Since there are a lot of different reviews out there for Crosswind #1, I won’t be diving too much into that one. Instead, I will focus more on #2 in this catch up session. Welcome to the adventures of catching up with comics as I venture into the world of Crosswind. How will this fare in my eyes and will it differ from everyone else review wise? Only one to find out. On with the show.
Crosswind: It’s Freaky Friday but with a darker twist an deft sense of humor to the proceedings.
The simple premise to Crosswind is that – for unknown reasons – a housewife and a hitman switch bodies. We don’t know why they were chosen for this and all we know is it happened and let the fun begin. The first issue is getting to know our hitman, Cason and our housewife, Juniper. Simone from the start gives you all you need to connect with them and engage into their worlds. By the end you know just enough of their personalities and the supporting characters of their lives. Juniper has a messy family life and more and Cason has a similar but different sort of mess in his own life. When the body switch happens it sets the scene for the craziness within #2 and my goodness this book is brilliant.
As #2 begins, you see the after effects of the switch. Whoever did this still wants them to do what they need to do, or else. It’s unique and there’s many twists to that put us in directions that are unexpected, to say the least. Cason for example has skills that we never imagined and the same goes for Juniper. They use their skill sets in different ways than they did in their normal lives. Both lives have their dangers so to speak but they are good in their new situations. The neat thing with Juniper is that she was a writer until life happened. In the back matter for #1 we get a dark tale we don’t know the author of, but the second is Juniper’s writing. I get the feeling that more of Juniper’s writing and her frustrations will play a bigger role as time goes on.
Overall Crosswind is a strong series so far, yet I do have some mild complaints.
I do say Cason’s life is the one that’s intense but I’m not entirely connected to his world. It’s interesting to see that Cason’s world is more the crazy hitman lifestyle but I find Juniper’s world fascinating. I think it’s because you want to see Cason just run over everything and every bit of awful in Juniper’s life in her body. Yet I do like that Juniper has strangely started to adapt to Cason’s universe, it will be fun to see where that goes. Not fully sold yet on what’s happening in Cason’s universe but it’s a mild complaint at best. I do say Crucifix is a great character and a highlight in the Cason experience and it will be fun to see how Juniper as Cason interacts with him in the future.
Crosswind explores a lot in these two issues as to how these characters relate to one another. You would not think a housewife and a hitman would have so much in common, yet they do and it works well. It’s going to be fun to see how their worlds collide at some point and I can’t wait to see when it happens. I like where this is going so far and it will be interesting to see where this story goes in the issues to come. As we’ve only started to see the madness Gail Simone has in store for us with this tale. Yet now I get to dive deep into the wonders of this glorious art team. As Simone’s writing is amazing but this art team, this art team is incredible.
Between Cat Staggs illustration and Simon Bowland’s lettering, Crosswind is a beautiful book.
Where to begin with the art on Crosswind? Cat Staggs gives this series a feel unlike many series out there. What makes this so special is the way Staggs handles expressions. It’s dynamic and puts you that much more into the story. There is a lot of action but a lot of action happens in the emotions in Simone’s writing and the expressions of the characters. There’s also an immense amount of color work, subtle shades on the faces with brutal reds for other situations, and it works beautifully. Staggs is handling all of this and it looks mind blowing and it adds that next level feel to the proceedings here. Staggs has artwork that’s realistic, beautifully stylized, and absolutely wonderful. You got an engaging script, strong lettering from Simon Bowland, and gorgeous illustrations that make up the joyous experience that is Crosswind.
Crosswind: If you’re sleeping on this book, I would correct that mistake immediately.
I am with the choir on this one, Crosswind is off to a great start. Reading these two issues has made me a believer and it’ll be on my pull for many days to come. It’s brilliant, it’s wonderful, and you need Crosswind in your life. You won’t regret it.
