In recent years comics have become more controversial as they explore topics such as environmentalism, governments and racial issues. The comic, The Fix, begins to address another controversial issue in today’s society. That is corruption in our public officials, in particular the police. Now the comic takes a unique stance on the issue as it focuses on 2 cops who are corrupt and the consequences of their actions.
The Good:
Spencer and Lieber reminded us with The Fix, issue 1, why they are an amazing comic creator team. The comic captures how an idea evolves into actions and consequences. This is done through the main character Roy who comes to the realization that he wants to do the least amount of work to amass wealth. Now Roy sees the job as a police officer. Roy believes police officers take kickbacks, have access to illegal activities, enforce, and sometimes break the law, for their own benefit. Now this leads to him become a police officer and he winds up dropping charges against a man named Donovan who is a movie producer. In return Donavan will purchase a movie script from Roy and his police partner. As a result of gaining this money and losing it both Roy and his partner become indebted to a man named Josh, who has them covering up his murders and doing odd jobs to pay him back. This shows that every action has a consequence, as is the case with Roy. Furthermore, the comic alludes to the idea; once you commit one corrupt action, in order to rectify the situation, you have to commit another. Outside the core elements of the comic, the comic has excellent pacing as Spencer and Lieber understand when to speed up the comic and when to slow down to keep the reader intrigued. The Fix, issue 1, has a great comic concept and excellent pacing that make it an interesting read.
The Bad:
The comic has a great concept and wonderful pacing yet it falls short in a few areas. One of these areas is that the comic is very wordy. As a result it takes away from the art side of the comic. Furthermore, the comic falls short in the character of Josh. In particular, why Roy and his partner owe him money and are required to work off their debt to him. Without the comic revealing this information it keeps us as the reader in the dark and adds an element of confusion to the comic, making it a little awkward to read.
The Verdict:
There is no doubt that this comic is an interesting read. The comic is addressing the topic of corruption with police officers from a police and criminal world perspective, which provides a different insight than the way it is portrayed in the media. Furthermore, the character development of Roy is exceptional as the comic establishes his background and his journey to becoming corrupt. The comic is not without flaws as Josh’s character development makes the comic a little awkward. Overall the comic is an interesting read and should be given a shot as it is captivating and provides a different perspective on the topic of corruption.
You can purchase The Fix here.
