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I would love to have a book that showcased nothing but Terry Moore’s artwork.

When you talk about a nice flow to an artist’s line and his storytelling, Moore has to be the prime example.  His easy-breezy line work makes it look like his characters are flowing through space even as their world is crumbling all around them.  Often times in Strangers in Paradise, the worst things could be happening but everything was flowing gorgeously.  His artwork contains a beauty that’s often complementary but opposite of the triials he’s putting his characters through.

Keeping that in mind, Echo opens with two distinct images, one on the inside front cover that’s not really part of the story (think of it as a poster or another promotional image) and one that’s the opening splash page of Moore’s latest series.  The first non-story image shows the main character Julie superimposed against an image of an exploding atomic bomb.  Most likely, it’s a metaphor but it’s a fascinating image.  Is Julie an atomic bomb?  Will she be involved in destruction on the level of an atomic bomb?  It’s meant to be a haunting image and Moore succeeds.

The splash page shows a Georgia O’Keefe-like flower in the desert.  Again, it’s an image that has ties to the main character but has little yet to contribute to the story.  It’s a delicate and tender flower with the strength and endurance to last in the dry and arid desert.  I think that this image implies what the general theme of the book will be.

Moore’s story isn’t as strong as his artwork is.  In SiP, Moore’s writing was bolstered by the characters of Francine and Katchoo.  Even in the earliest issues, they were solidly defined and easily recognizable.  They may have started out a bit too cartoonish but they were true characters.  in Echo, Julie is only barely defined—a photographer living in the desert and putting off signing papers for a divorce—when a fantastical and metalic rain pours down on her.  There’s barely anything in this story to make the character worth returning to.  Each issue of SiP was full of wonderful, colorful, comedic yet tragic characters.  Echo is filled with plot delivery devices; characters who serve the plot but are hardly presented beyond the most surface level.

Of course, SiP lost me a long time ago because it grew too heavy on plot and melodrama and forced the characters into some ridiculous situations and relationships.  Echo for all of its fantasy and science fiction elements, plays it a lot more straight and serious.  This isn’t the comedy or soap opera that SiP was.  Abandoning the humor has led to a more deliberate yet staid pacing.

Echo is not a horrible comic.  In fact, it’s probably (hopefully) the beginning of a very good and entertaining comic. But as first issues go, Echo #1 is rather standard, delivering a few basic plot points while delaying any meaningful character building for later issues.

Echo #1
Written & Drawn by: Terry Moore

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