The Precinct #1 Review - A Battle Of Steam And Alchemy

Written by: Frank J. Barberie

Art by: Crizam Zamora

Colors by: Dinei Ribeiro

When it comes to my viewing habits, I tend to be an easy mark for police procedurals. Don't know why, but that whole investigative framework has always been addictive to me. Maybe it's that the outline has a familiarity to it, and the fun part is watching what the writers come up with to shake that up and make it interesting. Dynamite's The Precinct is right up that same alley.

The Precinct takes in place in a steam-based society, and the look of the world definitely has a steampunk flare. Mortimer Hill, one of our protagonists, is a detective on the force. He's a bit disgruntled, a bit curmudgeonly, but overall he is just trying to do his job. The other main character, Josephine Winters, is part of the Alchemy Academy, who detest the use of steam, and are attempting to find other resources to use instead. I tell you all this because the success of this book will come down to how writer Frank Barberie develops these two characters over time.

In a lot of ways, like Law & Order SVU, the strength of a procedural lies in its characters, and the relationships they form as a team. The Precinct is off to a good start in that regard. While both characters don't think fondly of the other at the moment, they are more alike then they both would wish, and that should lead to some great moments of growth for them. Even if the book has a bigger plot, I would still like to see them take on smaller cases in the meantime to flesh their idiosyncrasies out a bit more.

Artwise the team of Crizam Zamora and Dinei Ribeiro have fun with the steampunk theme, and they put so much detail into the city, even if it is only in a piece of the panel. That said I didn't love the art overall, but it wasn't out of place. Just comes down to personal preference on that front.

I enjoyed the first issue, and I'm on board for issue 2, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea.