#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. From the December 1996 edition with a theme of "Fantasy":
TAKE A CHANCE!
LEAVE IT TO CHANCE #1 (Image/Homage Comics)
Imagine if Doctor Strange had a kid. That's the high level premise of LEAVE IT TO CHANCE. But don't let it fool you. Writer James Robinson has created an amazing world populated with interesting characters.
This is the story of Chance Falconer, a young teenage girl. For generations the sons of the Falconer family have served as the occult protectors of Devil's Echo. Chance is excited; since she is the only child of the current protector, it is now her turn to begin training for the job. But her father has other plans. Y'see, whenever he is not saving the city from demons and whatnot, he's a bit of a jerk. He's arrogant. He's sexist. He's not going to train his daughter for such a difficult and demanding role.
When business draws her father out of Devil's Echo, Chance takes a chance to prove herself. She begins to investigate a mystery her father passed over. Why has a wandering shaman fallen into a coma? Where is his missing daughter? Chance is, of course, in over her head. Somehow the shaman is mixed up with the candidates of the upcoming mayoral election. And those candidates are willing to go to extremes to keep their secrets. The beautiful art is by Paul Smith. He has previously worked on UNCANNY X-MEN from Marvel and THE GOLDEN AGE from DC (also with writer James Robinson). His style for this story is a mishmash of John Byrne, Frank Miller, and Japanese manga.
Robinson, who currently writes STARMAN for DC Comics, has made some wonderful assurances in his afterword to the story. He promises to keep storylines confined to 4 issue arcs and make every effort to keep the series accessible to new readers. And to reassure all those fellas out there who aren't sure they can handle a girl protagonist, he says this "is in no way a book for sissies." Indeed, it's a book with something for everyone: magic, dragons, politics, monsters, adventure, horror, intrigue.
This is a great one, folks. So buy it! Because, in the end, you're not taking a chance. It's a sure bet.
Grade: A