Story and Art: Paul Chadwick
Cover by: Paul Chadwick
Published by: Dark Horse Comics
Summary:
Concrete starts on the road, on the highway, while a group of travelers trek across America with two concrete monsters. Maureen and Larry are the travellers who trek with Concrete, the monster. The next stop on the trip is the Sand Dunes National Park, where the group parks their truck and belongings. After Concrete’s son is securely kept at the park, the three find themselves deep within the sand dunes, from sliding on hills to discovering animals and various milestones.
The art that Paul has illustrated is quaint and beautiful to look at. One of the pages focuses on the sunset across the hills that the three are looking over, and the illustrations are compelling to examine. Concrete himself stands out as he’s a rock monster; almost as if he’s a gargoyle that has come alive. The clouds look wispy and dreary in some parts of this issue, which shows how definite the artwork is. Concrete himself walks far into the dunes to write.
The issue ends with an interesting occurrence: a lightning strike. I would recommend the first issue of Concrete specifically for readers who are used to the cadence of how many indie comics were written in the 90s, such as The Maxx. Sparse dialogue, but enough to match the artwork and to leave a deeper meaning within mundane occurrences.
Overall: 10/10
India Williams is a comic writer and reviewer based in Florida. She is a lifelong comics fan, with favorites including Thor, Conan, G.I. Joe, and Speed Racer. When she’s not writing comics or reviewing them, she enjoys toy photography.
