Spencer & Locke

Spencer & Locke, Vol. 1 by David Pepose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Spencer & Locke collects Spencer & Locke 1-4.

I'm a Calvin and Hobbes fan from way back and someone on twitter tipped me off to this some time in the hazy past.

Imagine if Calvin had a terrible upbringing and grew up to become a cop but still had Hobbes for a best friend. That's the lazy way to describe Spencer & Locke. When Locke's girlfriend Sophie turns up dead, Locke goes stomping into the most dangerous territory imaginable to find her: his own past.

Spencer & Locke doesn't quite stray into James Ellroy territory but it's some dark stuff. Many of the Calvin and Hobbes tropes are examined through the blood smeared lens of David Pepose and Jorge Santiago Jr. Santiago's art with Jasen Smith's color palette reminds me of Francisco Francavilla's Archie Horror work.

The character designs are close enough to their Calvin and Hobbes counterparts that you know who they correlate to but are unique enough to stand on their own. Hell, Spencer reminds me of Blacksad at times, an anthropomorphic panther who may be more real than he lets on.

Part Calvin and Hobbes homage, part hardboiled noir, Spencer & Locke hits all the right buttons for me. Five out of five stars.

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