(5th World Studios, 2014)

Review by Brad Gischia

Written by Michael Moreci
Illustrations by Keith Burns
Color by Chris Beckett
Letters by Jim Campbell

*Moderate Spoilers

Happy New Comic Book Day! On this most joyous of weekdays, perhaps as you’re browsing about in the virtual bins at Comixology, you happen upon Hoaxhunters and remember that they’re on sabbatical. But how to get your Moreci fix? Search away friend, and you may come upon Monkeybrain Comics and read Skybreaker and Prime’8’s or get Curse-d at Boom Studios…but you’ll still be missing something, because today marks the digital release of the newest book by Michael Moreci.

Reincar(Nate) comes out today on Comixology, and has proven up to the high standards I’ve come to expect from Moreci. Kickstarted and successfully funded as a graphic novel in May of 2012, it’s a tale that weaves his love of the unbelievable and mixes it with the gritty, a story of an underdog who is given the opportunity to be the man he has always wanted to be. Or…men he’s wanted to be. Because the hero in Reincar(Nate) is Nate McCoy, a private investigator and ex-cop who pushes all the wrong buttons with all the right people. A man who will not bow down to the status quo and takes blowback from that right in the temple. Literally.

Nate has stepped on a lot of toes it seems, garnering a reputation within the police force that is not favorable. Moreci has given this book the feel of an 80’s crime drama. An ode it childhood watched between 8 and 9 on a school night. He evokes all of those cops and P.I.’s that turned the cold shoulder to “the department” and worked just outside the law. This man is the outcast, the one that plays outside the rules, that always collars the crook, and this man is shot in the head about half way through the first book.

When Nate comes to he finds that he has hardly been injured. And that now he can see past versions of himself, a western sheriff and a late 60’s hitman, who speak to him and offer him advice. (I can also see this as a video game on the original NES platform, take a deep breath and…)

Nate has one real friend in Autumn, a detective, who throws her lot in with him after he’s shot. El Panda, who we don’t see in the book, seems to be the main suspect, not only in Nate’s attempted murder but also in the murder at the beginning of the book. (There is some question as to who actually shot Nate, but that path may lead into the magical or mystical nature of the book, and I’ll leave that to you to find out. For now, blame El Panda.)

Keith Burns’s art is great. With the colors by Chris Beckett the two have a style that reminds me of Tony Moore’s Walking Dead stuff, an angular look to the people that works well.

Who shot Nate? Can he access the memories and skills of his other personalities? Can they take over his body? These are all things that could be in the future for Reincar(Nate) but you’ll have to head over to Comixology and find out. Resurrect yourself out of bed and head over to your computer; this book will be waiting and ready.

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Follow Brad Gischia on Twitter:  @comicwasteland