By Hunter T. Patrick

Welcome to 1975. Think about everyday life in 1975, if you were old/young enough to remember such a time. Think about the music, and the atmosphere of big cities. Think about the gangs, monsters, and ninjas associated with that time period. If you cannot remember all three of the last part well then you are in for a treat. MXMLXXV introduces 1975 in a vibrant, dark place. The people in this town city are all having to deal with a world that is hard to get by without some random attack from ninjas or the like. The series revolves around a cab driver, who is sexual partners with the DJ who loves to do what a DJ does and constantly play music, this being from the 1970s. The protagonist, the cab driver, is full of fight in her as one has to be in this time.

The writing feels true to its time with characters’ dialogue matching the atmosphere. What is most interesting is that it is a blend between 1975 and the rich new world created for this story. The creative team does not bother telling what is happening in the world, instead, it shows us. As the series progresses there is strong hope that the creative team provides background for just what is going on with why the threats that are shown exist and why they wreck the havoc in the world it does. Playing off with the madness it provides very light humor seeing one particular character acting the opposite as expected. The series provides some humor throughout that does not overshadow the story.

The art uses colors that are somber and somewhat washed out. This use of coloring helps bring forth a sense of a more gritty, realistic city view of 1975. The penciling of characters do not show overly attractive characters, but instead characters being drawn in a more realistic manner, similar to the coloring. Realism is a nice word to describe the comic, especially in terms of a black female lead, something that is extremely rare to find in any medium. It is an absolute joy to see realism as it does, but readers looking for a more idealistic art style may have to turn elsewhere. Hearing monsters and the ninjas might seem like the art might be more fantasy orientated with the two being together, but the realism works great with the story.

This is a good start to a series. It is more compelling than other first issues on stands. A big complaint is reading without ever learning any background or any promise of why things are the way they are or if it is just a world that has always been this haunted, but that is a complaint that should only be a complaint if the series never fixes it, being the first issue, it is excused for that. This is not a work that will appeal to everyone, but for those that are looking for a fun, dark ride, then they will be pleased.

Score: 4/5

MCMLXXV #1
Image Comics