Damaged #1 – Review

by David Lapham (writer), Leonardo Manco (art), Kinsun Loh, Jerry Choo, & Sansan Saw (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story:  Old-timer police captain Frank Lincoln, on his way out, realizes that his little brother Henry has returned, determined to bathe the streets in criminal blood.

What’s Good:  There are certain things in storytelling, particularly genre storytelling, that simply works time in and time out.  This is particularly the case with crime comics, and Damaged certainly hangs tight on numerous tropes.  For instance, we get the haggard, world-weary detective and we match him up with the young, bright-eyed newbie.  We’ve also got the gritty narration by said old-timer and, naturally, the Mayor and the higher ups in the police force are jerks.  It’s all sort of familiar, which naturally limits how good this comic can be.  However, it also limits just how bad it can be as well.  Reading Damaged at times feels like putting on an old, favourite shoe.  It’s  unremarkable, but it’s also comfortable.  If you like crime comics at all, you won’t have any strong dislike for Damaged.

Certainly, David Lapham does do some things quite well.  The narration by Frank Lincoln, politically unpopular police captain, is well executed and full of exactly the sort of downcast mood and atmosphere you’d hope for in a comic like this.  Indeed, Frank’s voice is strong enough that the narrated pages end up being some of the book’s strongest.  The tableside political banter between the mayor, the police department’s higher-ups, and the new recruit is also well done and feels natural and, again, comfortable.