The Last Broadcast #1

By André Sirangelo & Gabriel Iumazark

Often in comics the writer takes a central theme or plot and divides it amongst his characters in order to give the readers multiple viewpoints into the story. André Sirangelo has done just that with The Last Broadcast (issue 1 of 7). This first issue revolves around the mystery of an old magician from the 1930’s named Blackhall. Not a lot of information is given as to who he is but it’s clear that he is a key factor influencing the decisions of almost all the main characters presented here.

The story jumps around a few times from past to present, to San Francisco to Chinatown, and is filled with mostly short scenes to keep high pacing for the story. Having a fast pace was necessary, and used quite effectively, as Sirengelo is tasked with introducing multiple characters and even more plots in just 20 pages in order to get the reader hooked and interested in what’s to come. While the story here is fairly easy to follow, the ending left more to be desired as it’s clear that things are about to get a lot more complicated in the coming issues (especially surrounding that mysterious figure Ivan saw during his performance).

As Sirengelo was developing an intriguing premise, Gabriel Iumazark was creating some interesting art. His particular art style is reminiscent of classic 1980’s anime cartoons, which completely works for this storyline. While the colors are simple, which only add to the anime-like style, the pencils in some scenes are anything but. The complex, non-distinguishable lines are effective in most scenes, especially when showing a mysterious character who we’re not supposed to fully distinguish anyway, but during more dramatic scenes, like an explosion or a collapsing floor, it can be difficult to fully depict what’s happening. Some readers who are used to the realistic art styles that use simple designs may find Iumazark’s art style a little distracting; however it is certainly interesting and original in its own right.

The Last Broadcast #1 introduced an interesting enough premises that is sure to bring more questions than answers, and with six issues left in the mini-series, Sirangelo has plenty of time to elaborate on the mysteries he’s created. The first issue has done its job in that it leaves the reader wanting more, which will most likely cause them to pick up the next one and read on. As two creators who aren’t currently credited with much in the comics business, Sirangelo and Iumazark have created a good first installment to a series that has plenty of promise and looks to only get more engaging as the story progresses.