Review by Frank Plowright
Slow Burn begins by throwing readers into the middle of a panic. Roxane is snorting coke to keep herself awake as she drives her wounded boyfriend Jason somewhere remote at speed. Ollie Masters takes a very cinematic approach, constantly cutting back and forth between present and past, the latter indicated by Alessandro Santoro’s brown colouring. It’s confusing at first, but by the end of the first chapter everyone ought to be up to speed, after which the flashbacks are in full colour.
What evolves contrasts people escaping from adverse circumstances with those stubbornly determined to remain. Roxane’s family is mired in crime, and she’s now on the run hoping for a payoff that will enable her and Jason to leave the past behind. Where they end up is a town almost deserted because a fire rages in the coal seam beneath. Most residents chose to leave, but Roxane finds those who stayed.
Roxane remains the central character, but Masters switches the narrative from chapter to chapter to provide insights into the primary cast and their circumstances. It’s a peeling back of the onion process as the opening chapter sets the parameters and the remainder reveal far more about people than assumed.
The art is simple and sketchy with no more background than necessary. Pierluigi Minotti also gives everyone the same haunted look, and whether directed by the script or from choice is big on scenes where a character looks directly from the panel to stare at readers. On the whole, though Minotti’s art is functional and unimaginative, rarely able to raise his game to a page that startles.
It’s a shame, because what at first also seems a standard crime plot unfolds into a saga supplying four generations of criminal malice. Roxane, initially a stock personality, becomes through association a far more tragic figure, and if making assumptions about what Masters is setting up for the finale, you’re likely to be wrong.
However, while there’s a definite tone, Slow Burn can’t overcome the uninspired artwork, so not a crime story for everyone.
