Super Frat

Webcomic: The Black Wall

Creators:  John Kratky, Michelle Lodge, J Chill

Format:  Black and white comic book pages

Updates:  Tuesdays and Thursdays

Genre:  Drama, political, possibly thriller and action

Themes:  Surveillance, politics, war, friendship

Characters:  Hank Mitchum, Old Robert, Mark Stern

Archive:  36 pages, goes back about five months.

Writer John Kratky has a slow, but steady pace with his story.  Centering around Iraq War Vets, Hank has lost his mom and works security.  One of his army buddies from his old unit offers him a job in his company that does surveillance and Hank accepts.  This is about as far as the story goes to page 36 which is fine.  You get a real feel for Hank and Kratky’s style maybe slow, but it’s deliberate.  Additionally, he’s big on the tone and feel of the setting, which is Reno, NV.  I have to say, I really have a feel for the place just reading the comic.

I’m a big political junkie, so I like politics mixed in my comics.  It’s risky and the topics tend to be important.  The surveillance in the U.S. is one of the most important topics you can talk about today, besides the various wars.  Kratky’s got a vision and a plan for this story and something to say about this topic.  That makes it worthwhile to stick around.

Michelle Lodge’s art style is dark, black and white, no grays really.  Kind of Sin City.  Her lines are clean and her designs spot-on.  J Chill’s lettering is solid.  Could stand to be one point bigger for this old man, but readable.

This comic is my kind of story.  I look forward to its finish.  It’s going to take awhile, but I think if you check it out you’ll find the Black Wall worth visiting.

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