This is the first issue of the three part "Urban Serial" by Chris Atkins and Ed Doyle. They've done a few comics together before on "The Immortals", "Kazana and the Legion of Khaos", as well as a few others, but Urban Serial is one of the latest offerings.

Beginning with the cover, the artwork is nice (more below), and shows of Doyle's style, but it also shows the comic's biggest flaw. The print quality on the cover and throughout the book isn't great, and is a slight let down to an otherwise nice package. In the interiors, the text from the editorial and article at the front and back is blurry, and in some places a little hard to read. The artwork itself isn't sharp, and is pixelated round the black edges through all 28 pages. This could be from the printer, or just the quality of images sent for printing.

Chris crafts an interesting story in the pages, and its an entertaining read. The main plot is a man witnesses a killing on his drive home. The murderer threatens him and forces him not to speak. If he does he forfeits his own life to the killer. It's the makings of a great crime/pulp story, but it does have some downsides. The story isn't too original, the concept of someone seeing something they shouldn't have and being caught up in the middle of it. In terms of actual action in this issue, there is very little, with only three real key scenes through its pages. However, Chris does try and use this to advantage, allowing the killer to have some character building time within the pages, which wouldn't normally be possible with the average indie 5-page comics we find in anthologies.

As for Doyle's artwork, the stark black and white can sometimes lead to a few mucky panels, with lots of blacks falling into each other. Combined with the bad print quality, this can be slightly off-putting at times, though doesn't ruin the overall experience. There are a few anatomical details that are noticeable, but again don't detract overall. The black and white does suit the story, more than a colour interior would do, and he creates a pretty badass-looking villain.

Overall, the opening chapter of "Urban Serial" does a good job of setting up the rest of the series, though does have a few niggling downsides, which hopefully the two other issues have gotten rid of. Atkins shows he has flair as a writer, and Doyle proves his artwork is adaptable, showing it in this genre. For £2, it's a nice average comic, but as a series you'll really need the following two issues. Worth a try.