Regarding the Matter of Oswald's Body #1

Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body #1

BOOM! Studios 2021

Written by Christopher Cantwell

Illustrated by Luca Casalanguida

Coloured by Giada Marchisio

Lettered by Andworld Design

Where is Lee Harvey Oswald's body?

The Kennedy assassination is a rat's nest of conspiracy theories: mafia involvement, the second gunman, government cover-up... but the most important chapter of this sordid tale may just be the theory that the body buried at Oswald's Rose Hill grave-site is not actually Lee Harvey himself.

Meet the ragtag group of "useful idiots" who are unwittingly brought together to clean up the crime of the century -- a wannabe cowboy from Wisconsin a Buddy Holly-idolising (former) car thief, a world-weary Civil Rights activist ready for revolution, and a failed G-Man who still acts the part -- and specifically, regarding the matter of Oswald's body.

We all love a good conspiracy theory and they are a dime a dozen maybe more so nowadays though many of these theories are being proven either true or false with the more documents that are released. Still right now it would seem that Lee Harvey Oswald is indeed a very popular man as there are multiple books featuring him right now makes you wonder if we’re coming up on the anniversary of that tragic day and enough time has passed that documents are on the verge of release.

I’m really enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a marvellous job of establishing their personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages introducing the characters, the story and the world that they live in and it leaves us wanting more.

I’m impressed with the way that this is being structured and how we see the layers within the story begin to emerge and grow. I like how we see the layers open up these new avenues to be explored and the depth, dimension and complexity these add to the story. Each of these introductions is enough to create a story unto itself so that they are all part of the same one excites me with the possibilities. The way we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are extremely well achieved.

I like the interiors here a lot. The linework is clean, crisp and sharp plus with the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work that we see is extraordinary. I’m loving the faces and facial expressions as they further the characterisation and just add some delightful moments. Also that Frank is the one constant throughout the book he’s got that blend of creepy and familiar and there really is something about him, his presence that comes through the work. The backgrounds we see being utilised to enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels bringing out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is impeccably rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a great understanding of how colour works.

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While I'm not one hundred percent certain what the main objective of this is, other than find a person similar to Lee Harvey Oswald, and how many of these conspiracies they will be taking a part in, whatever or however long this is going to last you count me in because I’m officially super intrigued. This is all thanks to the intriguing writing, the strong characterisation and these absolutely bloody delightful interiors.