Chum #1 is a comic written by Ryan K. Lindsay with art by Sami Kivela and colors by Mark Dale. People are going missing and foul play is suspected on this tropical island. This is a noir tale that takes place on a beach frequented by surfers, cops, and criminals. The leading lady for this comic is Summer, she owns a popular diner-like restaurant on the beach and she is very knowledgeable about what goes on. Standard is a detective that hangs around and keeps on eye on things whether he’s asked to or not. Penny is the crime boss who always seems to have a hand in anything unsavory. This story begins as a storm rolls in and surfers prepare for the waves. After a violent incident leads to unanswered questions both the police and news reporters start investigating. There is an overarching theme of eerie mystery. The action here is physical, bloody, and features light gore. The pace is steady and the tone serious with intense moments of varying length. The dialogue here is mostly narration from an unknown source and occasionally from the characters. There are no word-heavy pages here. This is debut comic for a noir mystery where multiple characters have goals that get in the way of each other and it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top.

            The art here is in that detailed 90’s style with an overall lower tone due to the fact that this takes place during stormy weather so the sun isn’t as bright. The color range here is wide but a lot of them are muted. The scenery is the endless ocean and sandy beaches with a constantly changing sky. The atmosphere is somewhat gloomy due to the inclement weather. The main location for this story is Summer’s diner where every major character passes through at some point. Other areas frequented are the beach, in the ocean, and sometimes on a boat. The backgrounds tend to be a gradient/solid color during the intense moments. The expression level here is about average with these characters attempting to hide their emotions for the most part. The range is from happiness to anger and from disgust to irritation. The faces are well-drawn with a good amount of detail so every look comes across clearly and gives credence to their words. The violence here is bloody and with light gore. The action scenes aren’t very long but they break up the action well.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like mysterious noir stories that take place on a beach in a tropical location with a three-lead cast and violence then this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

R. Violence, light gore, sexual situations.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“Men are suckers for redheads and greenbacks.”

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 22

Violent Pages: 4, for 18% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 1, for 5% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 3

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 2

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 4

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”