Back Issues
The Way Of The Rat 01
By Patrick Oliver
June 30, 2009 - 17:22

GrossGen Comics
Writer(s): Chuck Dixon
Penciller(s): Jeff Johnson
Inker(s): Tom Ryder
Colourist(s): Chris Garcia
Letterer(s): Dave Lanphear
$1.25 US



To catch a thief
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Fate... Kismet... Destiny... If you are the sort of person who thinks about these things, then you may well see situations in one of two ways.
There may well be a third way to look at it; life is chaotic.

And so we come to Way of the Rat. A tale of a thief who will become so much more than that, but resist, kicking and screaming all the way. This battle and rebellion provides great amusement to the reader. That it is so well rendered and told is also a joy. With a cast of characters, rough and conniving and calculating and cold, it is a pleasure to read. Add a few enigmatic folk who we don't readily know what their motivations are and we have a romping good mystery!

The artwork is simple yet detailed, slightly rough also yet quite elegant at the same time. It flows on the page. And the action scenes are sinewy and acrobatic and almost balletic too. They wouldn't look out of place in a big screen production and would have members of the audience nodding appreciatively. As it is, I was impressed as I read this.

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But Way of the Rat is not all murder, mystery and martial arts. This is a comic book with plenty of humour contained within its pages too. I would give examples, but I don't want to ruin it for you... What's that you say? Okay, one example then. You twisted my arm! I'll just say that the interactions between him and a character he meets in a cage definitely raise a smile.  

So what of this destiny I mentioned? Well at one stage, Boon Sai Hong's tutor (though he doesn't know it yet) says, ''And you..the gods alone know why... were chosen to wear it''.  Interesting. Wear what? (Nope, not spoiling it!) Let's see what fate has in store for our reluctant hero from here on in shall we? I can promise you this; it's a very entertaining ride.


For Amy
Rating: 9/10

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