| Comic Review | Dana Place |
Hard Time: Season 2 #1
Writer: Stever Gerber and Mary Skrenes
Pencils: Brian Hurtt
Inks: Steve Bird
Colors: Lee Loughridge
Plot:
Ethan Harrow is a 16 year old locked in prison for
potentially the rest of his life after participating in a
school shooting. In this issue, the first of the second
series, a fellow inmate is killed after being “cleaned” in
an industrial strength washing machine and Ethan’s new found
girlfriend on the outside talks to a prisoner’s rights group
into taking Ethan’s case and trying to get him a new trial.
Review: Most of the issue is told in flashback and
completely gives you his back story in a nice tidy little
package, focusing on his life outside of prison while
setting aside the story of the spirit inhabiting his body
from the first series. This issue makes the not so subtle
comparison between prison and the life of an undersized
“geek” in high school, comparing being beaten up to being
shanked in the shower. That one is preparation for the
other. While I understand the comparison, I think it is a
bit simplified and may make it difficult justifying what
Ethan may have to do to stay alive in prison. But other than
that, and the fact that there may not be anything else you
need to know about Ethan’s past, I think the idea is
original, the book is graphic and compelling and I think as
long as they keep the spirit within angle in the background,
this is a book I would like to read on a regular basis.
Special thanks go out to Jeremy Shorr, owner of Titan Comics for allowing us to use his advance preview books for review purposes.
