Rapid Review - Larry's Sampler Book

The Black Diamond Onramp/Smoke and Guns/Five Fists of Science preview book from AiT/Planet Lar: Larry thoughtfully provided me with this preview book and a note that said he was never sure what I'd like. I'm slightly worried that my tastes are so hard to pin down, especially as I have the same problem trying to figure out what I'd like. Still, a sampler is often the best way to figure something out, so this is the perfect book for me.

On to the stories then...

I have had dreams/nightmares of a road similar to the Black Diamond on and off since I was in High School. The concept is simple, yet unthinkable. A lawless superhighway across the US? But AiT/Planet Lar specializes in the unthinkable, and that's why it appears that this story will work. Mix the unthinkable with the mundane, and you get a tale worth reading.

Moving on, Smoke and Guns doesn't do much for me. But for the art, I'd probably ignore it completely, but Fabio Moon can make any tale look good, and his storytelling skills are simply amazing compared to far too many modern comic book artists. While this one doesn't look like it's for me, I recommend checking out the artwork if you get a chance.

Last up is the smallest preview, only two pages worth and one of them a splash. It only needs two pages. In fact, it only needs the one splash page to draw me in... Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain? I'm there.

Two out of three from this sampler, with the one that isn't my style still looking amazing thanks to the artwork. Yeah, I'd say that Larry still hasn't missed a step. And this, for a sampler, is nearly perfect.