Clear #1 (REVIEW)

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Clear #1

Scott Snyder’s brilliant storytelling is on full display in Clear #1. With vibes of “The Maltese Falcon,” Snyder’s newest Comixology release is a throwback noir style mystery set in the not too distant future.

ComiXology
Written by: Scott Snyder
Art/Colors by: Francis Manapul
Letters by: AndWorld Design

What if “filters” were something more than just making your photographs look snazzy? What if you could filter reality? This is what Snyder explores in Clear #1, along with the side effects of escapism. Add in a protagonist with a mysterious past and a captivating mystery, and you have all the ingredients for a can’t miss first issue. 

As with any dystopian-set story, the future is bleak. Snyder’s description of a world that is just more than 30 years from now is one of extreme technological addiction. Reality is so harsh that people must literally wear rose-colored glasses in order to get through the day. If that is not a realistic and valid fear of where we are headed as a human race, I don’t know what is.

“Scott Snyder’s brilliant storytelling is on full display in Clear #1. With vibes of “The Maltese Falcon,” Snyder’s newest Comixology release is a throwback noir style mystery set in the not too distant future.”

And that is just the setting. Metaphors aside, Clear, at its heart is a crime story. In detective Sam Dunes, Snyder has created a flawed and mysterious protagonist you immediately want to know more about. However, it is how Clear #1 both starts and ends that will undoubtedly reel you in — this is where Snyder shines.

In addition to the tremendous storytelling, readers get Francis Manapul’s art — more specifically, his use of color. Nothing screams “futuristic setting” like neon, and while oftentimes overdone by others, Manapul’s use of bright colors here are brilliant. While you may not always associate bright with bleak, Manapul is able to take shades of vivid colors to create a cold and cheerless environment.

There is a reason Clear was the second title to be released from Snyder’s Best Jackett Press imprint and ComiXology. It is a fascinating, gripping, and visual tour de force of storytelling. Once again, Snyder has delivered an absolute masterpiece. 

9.5