READ: Potter’s Field Boom! Studios

2009/11/07

WOW. After three decades of reading comics I thought I’d gotten pretty good at spotting twist and turns in stories, being able to roughly guess what lay ahead as I turned the pages.

Then I read Potter’s Field. The first read was already great. Mark Waid writes a tight script — it’s almost impossible to guess what’s happening next. The terrific thing about Potter’s Field — and also his other creator–owned work like Irredeemable — is that this being a character not owned by a big corporation, he can pretty much do what he wants.

A potter’s field is a place for the burial of people whose identities remain unknown. Now, the potter’s field of this story, Hart Island in New York, is a place that really exists. Google it and see for yourself.

The protagonist is a mysterious man named John Doe who seems obsessed with tracking down the identity of the bodies lying in Hart Island. it is a monumental task and John’s quest takes him to the darker side of New York. We know very little about this man. What is known is that he has a number of “agents” in society who report to him and help him complete his mission.

This mission sees him crossing paths with sadists, mobsters and crooked cops. And the cases, well, we begin thinking we know where they will lead, only the rug is pulled from under our feet several times. Really cool.

Waid is a great storyteller. His assured telling takes us through a tale that, I think in the end, is about hope. Or at least about a hero fighting an impossible tide.

John Doe exists in a messy, bleak world; the gorgeous, dark artwork of Paul Azaceta doesn’t so much as blow you away as seep under your skin.

It’s both an extremely satisfying piece of work and enormously frustrating. Frustrating because you want more of Potter’s Field. Right now, in fact.

The cases John Doe investigates here are pretty much resolved, true. But we get hints and glimpses of a larger, more epic arc forming just beyond the horizon.

It appears to be standalone cases, until you go back to re-read and spot signs that the entire graphic novel is meticulously constructed.

I believe Waid, when the whole tale of John Doe is told, will have created a work that will be remembered as something special. We’re very lucky. We’re here getting a ringside seat watching a talented writer hitting his prime.