In this early look at THE DEADLIEST BOUQUET #1, available on Kickstarter starting on May 11th, 2021, three dysfunctional sisters are brought together by the murder of their Nazi-hunting mother in 1998 New Jersey.
The Details
- Written By: Erica Schultz
- Art By: Carola Borelli
- Colors By: Gab Contreras, Chefel Peterson
- Cover Art By: Kevin Wada
- Cover Price: TBD
- Release Date: May 11, 2021, on Kickstarter
Was It Good?
It’s neither bad nor good because not enough happens in this first issue to help you decide if this is a story worth telling. From the intro paragraph above, you get a fairly unique setup but at least half that description was pulled from the press release that came with the review copy, meaning it’s not brought up in this first issue. The press release description has a strong hook, but reading the first issue in isolation doesn’t divulge that much information. In short, you’re in for a slow reveal.
For the most part, the story focuses on the three sisters coming together immediately after their mother’s murder to discuss what happened and what they’ll do next. That coming together and the subsequent in-fighting encompasses almost the entire issue, so it’s fair to say this first issue reads like a drama play. That means an incredible amount of emphasis is placed on the dialog and how well the art gets the characters to emote.
Is the dialog good? Yes. It feels natural and organic for a trio of adult sisters arguing over present dilemmas and past hurts. There’s nothing necessarily remarkable about the dialog, but it felt authentic, and that’s always the goal.
Is the character art good? The art is less good than it needs to be for this type of story. There are two artistic choices that draw attention for the wrong reasons and hurt the reading experience.
First, the color palette is very muted for all the settings and characters (except one). It makes for a visually bland experience that doesn’t enhance the story.
Second, the one consistent bit of pop is through the sister named Violet with her tattoos and bright clothes. When nearly all color is muted, the reader’s eye will naturally be drawn to whatever visually stands out. Violet certainly stands out, but unfortunately and in nearly every panel, Violet looks like her spine is bent in three different directions. It’s not quite 90s Image Comics female spine insanity, but it gets close in a few spots, and it became a significant distraction when you should be focused on the story and not whether or not Violet needs a chiropractor.
If it sounds like nitpicks, they are, but that’s because there’s so little action (again, it reads like a drama) you have no choice but to focus solely on how the characters look and their words.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
Author’s note: We’ll keep the spoilers light(er) since this is an advance review on a crowdfunded book, so there may be changes before it ships.
Rose calls her sister, Poppy, in the middle of the night from inside a closed florist’s shop. Their mother is lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood. Immediately, you can tell there’s tension between the two besides the present situation, and Poppy emphatically states she’s not burying “another” body in the backyard.
Right away, you’re practically hit on the nose with family dysfunction and (confirmed with a brief flashback panel) some disturbing childhood trauma. One positive about the art is the efficient use of single image flashback panels to fill in the gaps during the conversation. It’s a good approach to letting the art tell the story.
A few hours later, Poppy and Violet arrive at the florist’s shop as the police are collecting evidence. Admittedly, the convenience of the sister’s arrival strained credibility. Poppy was in California and Violet was in Europe, yet somehow, they both arrived at roughly the same time and only a few hours after Rose’s call. If you’ve ever had to book a cross-country or international flight, you know there’s no fast way to get there from here. Yes, it’s another nitpick, but it takes you out of the story.
The police start collecting notes and evidence at the crime scene, and they notice the mother, Jasmine, has a tattoo on her left hand indicative of a World War II resistance fighter. They note the oddity since Jasmine was much too young to be involved in the war.
When the sisters are together, the police ask surface-level questions to understand the players and where they were at the time of the murder. Through their answers and how the sisters will sporadically talk over each other, you get a strong sense of their personality types.
Violet is the flirty wild child, youngest daughter; just as prone to pick a guy or girl up at a bar as pick a fight at the same bar.
Poppy is the responsible mother and middle sister who fights very hard to curate the nuclear family model she wishes she had growing up.
Rose is the spinsterish introvert oldest daughter who was left behind to mind her mother and help with the store.
The more the sisters talk, the more they either project their troubles onto their family or deflect responsibility. Violet does what she wants without care for her family or anyone else. Poppy is so desperate to control and protect her vision of stable home life, she bosses her siblings around to keep them at a safe distance. Rose feels put upon by the burden of watching her mother because nobody else will.
If you’re thinking this sounds very familiar, you’d be right. It’s a classic setup of siblings taking very divergent paths as a result of shared trauma when they were young. In many ways, this story reads and sounds very similar to the Netflix series The Haunting of HiIl House if you replace ghosts with nazis.
Soon the arguing, debating, and talking is interrupted by Poppy’s husband, Derek, entering the back room with the kids to see if there’s anything he can do to help. The interruption spurs the sisters to part for now, and the police confirm it’s fine to leave as long as they stay close.
Hold up. What mother flies across the country in the middle of the night because her own mother was murdered and she brings her husband and two small children along? What husband brings the children into an active crime scene, complete with body outline and drying blood on the floor. That was an “oh, no. What are you doing?!?” moment that was more shocking than anything else in the book.
The last three pages of the book are where you get some story movement and a significant reveal intended to entice you to come back for issue #2
How Does It End?
We see the young sisters with shovels and why they have them. Poppy is overcome by the past and the present. Violet knows how to get what she wants, especially with a knife.
Final Thoughts
THE DEADLIEST BOUQUET #1, available on Kickstarter starting on May 11th, 2021, is a slow burn start to a multi-generational story of murder, trauma, and dysfunction. The sparse story movement is rich with relatable dialog and dramatic character moments, but whether or not there’s enough hook to keep going remains to be seen in issue #2.
Score: 7/10
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