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Occult Crimes Taskforce
When NYPD detective Sophia Ortiz stumbles upon a bizarre murder scene, she is quickly brushed aside by a covert police unit--the Occult Crimes Taskforce. Versed in the black arts and equipped with mystical weaponry, the O.C.T. keeps the streets of Manhattan safe from unholy creatures of the night. Can Sophia help stop this supernatural killer?
152 pages, Trade Paperback
First published June 26, 2007
49 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 8, 2017
The concept has been done so many times, usually not well: a police serial drama, but with a special unit that secretly handles supernatural crimes. Here is it is presented particularly poorly. Insufficient world-building, muddled plot, characters introduced and never seen again.
The art isn't hideous, but it is bad. It really looks like the illustrator took posed photos (stills -- there is very little motion and when there is it is unconvincing) and ran them through a graphic program. Most of what we get is close-of the characters faces, usually with little change of expression.
Here's a more active scene, where the officers anti-climactically encounter the super-awful terrible soul-eating monster:
The final product feels like a weakly-executed storyboard proposal for a tv show pilot.
Recommended only for major Rosario Dawson fans; you'll get to look at her face a lot.
The art isn't hideous, but it is bad. It really looks like the illustrator took posed photos (stills -- there is very little motion and when there is it is unconvincing) and ran them through a graphic program. Most of what we get is close-of the characters faces, usually with little change of expression.
Here's a more active scene, where the officers anti-climactically encounter the super-awful terrible soul-eating monster:
The final product feels like a weakly-executed storyboard proposal for a tv show pilot.
Recommended only for major Rosario Dawson fans; you'll get to look at her face a lot.
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April 4, 2018Not really my jam. Cool story, just didn't resonate with me.
December 20, 2011
This is an interesting idea, but we've seen it before. The story is somewhat muddled and the climax isn't exactly clear. It has some nice touches, but the main stuff isn't locked down.
As for actress Rosario Dawson getting an author attribution, that's a genuine mystery. This clearly isn't a vanity project of her, since it doesn't feel like she wrote it. Mostly it seems as if she merely sent the (superb) artist a bunch of photos so he could accurately portray her. (And the art is really impressive.) Maybe they needed a hook to get it published and she was hot at the moment? No idea.
Anyway, because of some of the story problems and Dawson's "Mary Sue but not really" appearance, I was going to give this 2 stars. As in, I didn't hate it but I'm not exactly going to recommend it, either. Then I got to the appendix. The multiple pages of the Occult Crimes Taskforce Manual are more interesting than the story itself. They remind me of really cool game settings for RPGs. I don't play those kinds of games, but I enjoy reading the manuals because of the world-building. There are a lot of cool ideas contained in that manual, with a rich history, a cool setting, and even a Fantasy explanation for why the Wappinger Indian tribe sold Manhattan for such a ridiculously cheap price: they were tired of all the demons and monsters there and made them someone else's problem.
That last part right there is enough to hang most comics and major motion pictures on.
So, 3 stars for the appendix. If you are into that sort of thing, check it out. And read the OCT manual first, because it will make the thin comic seem much fuller.
As for actress Rosario Dawson getting an author attribution, that's a genuine mystery. This clearly isn't a vanity project of her, since it doesn't feel like she wrote it. Mostly it seems as if she merely sent the (superb) artist a bunch of photos so he could accurately portray her. (And the art is really impressive.) Maybe they needed a hook to get it published and she was hot at the moment? No idea.
Anyway, because of some of the story problems and Dawson's "Mary Sue but not really" appearance, I was going to give this 2 stars. As in, I didn't hate it but I'm not exactly going to recommend it, either. Then I got to the appendix. The multiple pages of the Occult Crimes Taskforce Manual are more interesting than the story itself. They remind me of really cool game settings for RPGs. I don't play those kinds of games, but I enjoy reading the manuals because of the world-building. There are a lot of cool ideas contained in that manual, with a rich history, a cool setting, and even a Fantasy explanation for why the Wappinger Indian tribe sold Manhattan for such a ridiculously cheap price: they were tired of all the demons and monsters there and made them someone else's problem.
That last part right there is enough to hang most comics and major motion pictures on.
So, 3 stars for the appendix. If you are into that sort of thing, check it out. And read the OCT manual first, because it will make the thin comic seem much fuller.
May 1, 2019
Interesting add to the fantasy world of the occult. Rosario Dawson in comic form is the main character, a rookie cop who sees this supernatural world by accident and so is transferred to a special unit of Manhattan police force.
There she learns about magic and the occult. Another world that exists alongside us.
But apart from surviving an attack against an entity called the soul ripper, why is she on the case straight away?
Some nice art makes this flow but some of it lacks, feels like there could be more.
There she learns about magic and the occult. Another world that exists alongside us.
But apart from surviving an attack against an entity called the soul ripper, why is she on the case straight away?
Some nice art makes this flow but some of it lacks, feels like there could be more.
January 9, 2021
Cool Concept but hated the artwork
January 16, 2017
Rosario Dawson's comic book series.
December 6, 2007
The story is decent even though an undercover paranormal investigation agency doesn't cover any new ground, but the art is all over the place. Shasteen does great likenesses, but uses space poorly. It's almost impossible to tell where characters are positioned in relation to each other. He fails to indicate motion, so action sequences feel like a collection of jump cuts. The end result is something close to one of those graphic novels which pulls stills from an animated film, except in this case, the film is poorly directed.
September 6, 2009
The story of a young cop in the NYPD who witnesses something strange and becomes assigned to the Occult Crimes Taskforce. I found the story difficult to follow because the artwork is photorealistic, yet ambiguous, and segues and post-action explanations are mostly nonexistent. Clearly the creators spent a lot of effort and thought on their world but they didn't seem to spend much time on cleanly telling a story.
June 26, 2016
The art looks nice, but too polished and uninspired-nothing holds static, nothing has energy. The plot is weak and confusing. The characters are almost non-existent and super, super flat. Nothing to tie all of this together into anything interesting.
March 13, 2008
This was a quick, good, read. I think I liked it mostly because I have a girl crush on Rosario Dawson.
August 25, 2011
This book felt like reading the cliff notes for what should have been a seasons worth of story. There's potential, but it needs fleshing out.
September 25, 2011
The artwork is stunning but the story line and dialogue are disjointed enough to leave the plot some what confusing.
August 1, 2015
The story was decent, but the art was bad enough to repeatedly distract the reader.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews