A very engaging attempt to comprehend and remember the mass shooting carried out by Stephen C. Paddock in Las Vegas on October 1 2017 where 58 people were killed.
Anthony E. Zuiker and Felipe Cagno have developed a singular and thoughtful way to confront the inescapable problem that lies at the heart of the event. There is no way to communicate why Stephen C. Paddock would shoot some many people from his hotel balcony, firing down into a crowd assembled for a music concert. I do not believe that Stephen C. Paddock himself could do this, all that would be provided are some words which would never be able to convey the unimaginable mental process that supported his actions. The regular choice is a straight reconstruction with some class of commentary to allow the reader to feel that it was explained and contained.
The creators have taken a significant creative risk with this story, one that in less talented hands have been reduced to a tacky parable and failed to be respectful to the lives of those who had been lost. In this version the Devil is a hitchhiker picked up by Stephen C. Paddock on his journey to Las Vegas. Significantly it is not the Devil who is inspiring the actions, Stephen C. Paddock had already loaded his car with his guns and ammunition.
The Devil is an opportunity to that deadly intent was already in motion, to engage a little with the killer and to provide the reader with a entry into the narrative. The scope of the damage that is planned is flagged by the fat that the Devil wants to hitch a ride with this man, his interest and curiosity are the signal that something beyond the normal range of human action is on its way.
At Las Vegas Lady Luck is manifested and has conversations with the killer as he gambles and rides his luck up to an inevitable fall. Lady Luck warns us that this is already on the cards, it will happen, there will be success that will directly lead to failure. There is no sense that the failure was the reason for the shooting, it was more likely the way the killer chose to enrage himself enough to act, to get the energy to jump over the barriers he may have had to starting his kicking spree.
The art by Brao is superb, it is never natural or cartoony, it is angular and deeply expressive. It creates the context where the Devil and Lady Luck are naturally part of the action without disruption the mote mundane details of the story or the location. The colours are vivid and sharp, they bring the emotional tones of the story to the fore without ever shouting them.
Deyvision Manes has delivered lettering that stylistically fits in exactly with the art and the intent of the comic without ever loosing any legibility or drawing undue attention to itself.
One-Eyed Jack is a tremendous comic, setting up the time prior to the shooting with skill, detail and avoiding any attempt to claim to understand more than it does.
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