Titan; $3.99

Steven Hollis is a screenwriter trying to build a career in the movie business. But instead of success, he’s finding failure, made worse by a gambling problem, mounting debt, and the threat of eviction. Seemingly at his lowest, Steven is given an opportunity to crawl out of debt when someone he owes money to gives him a job that he can’t refuse.  

Writer Dave Dwonch and artist Travis Hymel have begun a crime story about a guy with nothing to lose who realizes that things can always get worse. The dialogue is smooth, the story starts strong, and it’s moving along at a good pace. The art keeps the focus on the foreground action without extra details in the backgrounds and it has an interesting color palette that makes use of shadows and colors that appear to glow. Loose End is the latest offering from Titan’s Hard Case Crime imprint, and the first issue already has me hooked.

-Amanda Sheriff