Propeller #2

By Ricardo Mo, Alberto Muriel

“What would you do if you suddenly found yourself in possession of a bag full of cash?”

“Simple, Inspector. I’d put it with the others.”

“Hn, that’s a good answer.”

In Propeller #2, subtitled The Cop Who Knew Too Much, Rex Baldwin faces some questioning from the inspector involving a bank robbery that took place in issue #1…a robbery Baldwin had a special involvement in. It’s in this issue that we see some of Baldwin’s feelings in regards to what he did, and how he tries to justify his actions to his friend Beck.

Writer Ricardo Mo takes us back into the life of Rex Baldwin, a man who spent all his family fortune on some plans for teleportation. Seems like your basic life story of any millionaire right? Wrong! (Totally got you!). Mo has created a main character with real flaws, and shows us how Baldwin is coping with what he did from issue #1 as well as his new-found popularity with the police and as his own personal blackmailer.

The artist on this series is Alberto Muriel. He keeps the panels black and white, but plays a lot with grey shading and light sources. The panels are detailed and kept realistic, even down to the apartment of Baldwin’s blackmailer – who is a balding man in his underwear who really needs to clean his dishes (Come on! Don’t let those pile up!). On the last page of this issue we see Baldwin walk into his friend’s office, apparently without an invitation. Their expressions by Muriel portray their friendship pretty well, as Beck is pointing at Baldwin with an intense look on his face as he shouts “Rex, you can’t just stroll in here whenever you please.”, while Rex poses a casual smirk with the response “Yes, I can. And so could anyone.”

What would you do if you had powers? I’d probably use them to watch more Netflix…I mean save puppies from burning buildings. Rex Baldwin however, is still trying to figure this part out; is he a good guy…or a bad guy?