Perdy is a woman who is tough, foul-mouthed, and doesn’t tolerate fools (or much of anything) easily. The book opens with her being released from prison after a long stretch; seeking to both lands on her feet financially and reconnect with her past.
The first half of Perdy Volume 1 establishes something of a pattern for the book. As she goes to the next location on her journey, she gets into a fight with one of the locals, and she leaves with what she wants. These early pages establish Perdy’s personality; showing how she deals with problems and how she interacts with other people. This may be where the book may lose some people. One scene, in particular, involves Perdy dragging a man who insulted her into a room, and while what she does is never shown, the implication is that she sexually assaulted him (possibly via his nose).
Normally in a review, anything after the halfway mark wouldn’t be discussed for fear of spoilers, but it isn’t until the second half of the book that Perdy finds its focus.
It’s here that the book shifts from being about Perdy fighting her way through several misadventures to being a story about running from the past, attempting to make up for lost time, and the prospect of future happiness – all of which underline the central interpersonal dramas on display.
Perdy sets all of this drama up and more. The reader is given a sense of the major characters, their personalities and their drives. And while the book does have a slow start, it ends on a development that won’t be revealed here but sets the stage perfectly for future instalments in the series.
Starting off as a decent black comedy about a violent thief, it transitions seamlessly into a character piece involving painful memories and dysfunctional family relationships. When this part of the book gets going, it shows Perdy‘s true potential as a series. It gives a flavour of the world, the people who inhabit it, and gives just enough of a glimpse at what comes next to entice the reader to pick up the next volume.
PERDY VOLUME 1 / ARTIST & WRITER: KICKLIY / PUBLISHER: IMAGE COMICS / PUBLISHER: IMAGE COMICS/ RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 11TH
