“The Answer!” is something totally new and deserves a shout out. At first glance, you might think this is a reworking of an older title, which is fine, but this comic is brand spanking original with a lot of surprises to it. Enter Devin, a young woman who lives life to the beat of a different drummer. She’s smart, sexy, and, at 30, the greatest librarain you will ever know. She also happens to love puzzles.
Devin unlocks a mysterious puzzle and finds a fortune cookie type message inside: “enter the aperion dot net.” Huh? What does that mean? “Apeiron?” If you click on the link here that will take you somewhere, to more info about the comic. That link takes Devin to the ultimate game site for mental challenges. She crunches through the whole thing in about fifteen minutes and winds up with the highest score ever. That would be great except for the fact that her big win triggers an avalanche of mayhem. She’s got armed thugs after her and a strange superhero type with an exclamation point on his face. Who is who and what is what?
Mike Norton and Dennis Hopeless have created something with a lot of heart. We relate to Devin right away. It’s not easy to develop but they have succeeded in giving us a girl with that extra something special. Devin is a geek goddess and so much more. Mike Norton handles the art. He has a way of breathing life into relevant and likable characters. Devin comes across as very self-assured and authentic. Dennis Hopeless handles the writing. He gives Devin realistic, hip dialogue that we can hook into. In an early scene from the first issue, Devin explains how she can figure out most people in about twenty minutes and that doesn’t mean she wins anything, especially on a blind date. In that case, she ends up doing all the talking until the guy either decides to try to bed her or take her home.
What is very endearing about this comic is how we can easily become invested in the two main characters. Well, it’s mainly Devin since we can actually see her and we get to hear from her a good bit. Not so much with The Answer but, what we do see and hear from him, leaves us sympathetic. Mainly, no matter what chaotic mess they’ve gotten themselves into, we’re hooked and we want to see more. And there is definitley a plot to follow, complete with a mysterious secret society known as “The Brain Trust,” but that could end up being one big beautiful MacGuffin. You’ll find them in some of the best fiction, movies, and comics. If you’re new to the term, well, it’s definitely worthy of further consideration. It is best known and most associated with the films of Alfred Hitchcock. As the great master put it, a MacGuffin is often found in a thriller and “it’s the thing everyone is after.” You can view him discuss what a MacGuffin is with Dick Cavett here.
As you’ll see from the title they gave that Hitchcock segment, “Alfred Hitchcock was confused by a laxative commercial,” you’d never find it if you were looking for it. Hmm, that’s sort of the case with hunting for MacGuffins. Well, we’ll have to come back to this subject and explore it further. For now, just know they are a lot of fun and, if “The Answer!” is using one, you’re in good hands.
Two issues in and “The Answer!” is the answer to the next thrilling comic you’ve been looking for. “The Answer! #2” releases February 27.
Visit our friends at Dark Horse Comics and check out more about “The Answer!” over here.
