The Leading Man #1

Genre noir Author B. Clay Moore Publisher One Press External Links Official Oni Press Website

What would it look like if a high profile celebrity, such as an actor, were a costumed secret agent? How would they act, how would they do their surveillance, and who would assist them in their missions? The Leading Man, a new comic from Oni Press written by B. Clay Moore and illustrated by Jeremy Haun, provides us with just such an examination.

The appealing factor about this character is that it could be us. There do not appear, at this point anyway, to be any superhuman powers exhibited by Nick Walker, the big-time cinematic "leading man." With the right physical training and stealth lessons, and the right weapons and auxiliary equipment, perhaps we could be executing this role. That is what makes Captain America and Batman so appealing to so many - it is not completely unrealistic to see ourselves in that role. There are no magic tokens or supersuits or chemical reaction that empowers these guys and it is a role many of us comic readers would relish. The Leading Man takes it one step further with the alter ego also being something many of us see ourselves as being able to do - be a big player in the entertainment industry. We all think we could have that moment of discovery if the planets are aligned just right. To combine the two makes Mr. Walker's existence just a small leap of faith in believability, times two.

Also introduced in this issue is a nice surrounding cast who we meet but have no real depth on as of yet. They do work well to help fill in some pieces on Nick via dialogue, but the real test will be how this is done going forward. Some of you may remember the cast of characters that worked with The Shadow all those years ago. They were the ones that fed him his information and helped provide a buffer between The Shadow and the law. Quite often they were the ones to move a story along and connect the various plotlines. The roles played by Travis and Sarah are very similar but with much more modern technology to assist them. Meanwhile, Randall, whom we meet via a videophone, is the point person for the missions Mr. Walker will be going on.

Kimberly, the nosy actress not part of The Leading Man's team, is already causing problems with her curiosity. Not only does she wonder about Nick's late night wanderings and start to question some of the film crew, but also she decides to follow up on him herself. From the looks of the green lights on the radar, she has already led the security of the cave facilities right to The Leading Man. From here, she likely has only a few options - end up dead during the adventure, freak out at the end of the adventure and just want to be far away from it all, or she could become another informant. The worst of all would be that she actually works for the enemy. Next issue will help shed some light on her and whether there is any likelihood of romance in the air as well.

Setting us up in the world of a leading man from cinema and introducing us to the espionage co-horts secretly working as part of his entourage, this issue is well done with regards to developing the character. It is not what you would call an origin issue because we do not see how Nick became a spy. Instead it is an introduction to the characters that will play major roles and to the first story arc. The Leading Man is a good solid piece of work by both writer and artist with promise for the future.