Review: The Thrilling Adventure Hour #1

The Thrilling Adventure Hour #1
Publisher: Boom! Box
Rating: 

The Thrilling Adventure Hour is Boom! Studios latest series and I’ve got to say so far I love it. It’s kind of a silly, fun, and casual spin on paranormal investigations. So in other words it’s exactly the sort of spin I would expect (and hope for) from Boom! Studios.

Our main characters, Frank and Sadie Doyle, well they deal in the supernatural. But they’re really not what you’d expect from ghost hunters. They actually look and act exactly like one would expect socialites to behave. That sounds really weird and a little off-putting, I know, but it’ll grow on you. I actually ended up really liking the couple. They’re cute and quirky in their own ways. Sort of like a bright and cheery version of the Addams family (minus children, of course). I do believe that there’s more going on with them than we’ve been shown, but only time will tell exactly what that is.

There’s also a disgraced (I think) reporter on their tail, but it seems like his interest in them is more incidental than not. I’m not quite sure how he’ll tie into everything just yet, but my bet is either he’s going to get pulled into their world (thanks to his nosiness) or he’s going to screw everything up for them. I’m hoping for the former, but one never knows.

The art style is bolder, with more shapes than shading, and solid color backgrounds. While there isn’t an excess of detail, you can still immediately identify when the perspective has shifted. The reporter’s pages are more muted, with hues of blue, gray, and yellow taking over the palette. Meanwhile the Doyle’s happily have all bright (but sophisticated) colors on their pages.

Boom! has a habit of creating such interesting yet oddly relaxing series. I’m hoping this one becomes a hit, as I’d love to see more of it. If we’re really lucky it’ll end up as long running as Giant Days (which I also love).