DARK IVORY #1 (2008).
© Image
Series: Dark Ivory
Issue: 1
Authors: Joseph Michael Linsner, Eva Hopkins
Publisher: Image
Price: $2.99
DARK IVORY #1
By: Kurt AmackerDate: Monday, April 07, 2008
Forgiving the lateness of this review, consider that Dark Ivory stands as the newest original creation of Joseph Michael Linsner—the newest since his landmark character Dawn premiered in 1989. Linsner has established himself as more of a pinup artist than a writer, but Dark Ivory—co-written by Eva Hopkins—is not without its charms. Unfortunately, Linsner’s thankfully restrained art and his and Hopkins’s smattering of literary references fails to overcome their awkward dialogue.
Ivory Fontaine is a New York goth girl far smarter than the high school grade in which she labors. Her friend, Samson—a bookstore employee and writer—makes sure she has a ride anywhere she needs to go. The two spend their time chatting and frequenting New York’s goth club nights. On Thanksgiving Day, Samson elects to work for extra money, while Ivory’s mother invites her new boyfriend to dinner. She also uses dinner to announce her plans to move the family to Missouri. Ivory storms out and hits the club, dressed to the nines and ready to strap batwings to her back for the dance floor. There, she meets an over-the-top would-be vampire named Xander, who invites her to a secret club called Le Petite Mort. Only when she leaves the club, does she question how seriously Xander takes his persona, and must wonder whether vampires really exist.
Linsner and Hopkins deserve credit for imbuing Ivory with more humanity than assets, if you will. They write both Samson and Ivory within an accurate representation of the goth scene and its denizens. The two dress strangely, but they seek escape more than trouble. They spin their flights of fancy in a bedroom filled with band posters and conversation about unfinished writings. Given the cover of this first issue of Dark Ivory, one can’t help but think that Ivory Fontaine will continue her young life as one of the immortal undead. But, Hopkins and Linsner save that transformation for a future issue. It seems almost a shame that it seems so obvious. In another work, her encounter with the mysterious—and painfully cheesy—stranger could lead to a potentially fascinating mystery about the reality of vampires. In this case, most veteran readers of genre fiction should have a good idea of what’s coming.
In a way, Linsner’s art proves deceptive. The cover of Dark Ivory #1 offers the usual tantalizing cheesecake stuff that made the artist famous. However, the story portrays Ivory with less emphasis on her sexuality—a subject briefly and tastefully explored—than on her overwhelming alienation from her family and school. Her experience in New York’s goth scene and her literary dabbling provide the escape she needs, but a forced move to Missouri—“Misery,” in her words—may send her over the edge. But, the surprisingly good characterization in Dark Ivory hardly saves the often awkward dialogue. With both Ivory and Samson, the writers use unusually stilted voices from otherwise interesting characters. Neither of them seems to care for contractions. It creates an obnoxious contrast. The first issue of Dark Ivory stands as a good story with good art, written with a tin ear for dialogue. As such, readers will have to decide if they can endure the one to enjoy the other.
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