Comic Pants on Cleaners #1

Comic Pants » Wednesday Number Ones for 11/12/08The Cleaners #1 of 4 Writer: Mark Wheaton & Joshua Hale Fialkov Artist: Rahsan Ekedal Company: Dark Horse Comics

The Cleaners has a vibe that is pretty similar to crime procedural/tech geek shows like C.S.I., as Wheaton and Fialkov explore a little-known (and presumably real?) side of crime scene investigation, the private contractors who do crime scene clean-up. It’s not quite as procedural as I would have liked, as the writers don’t fully explain where the crime scene clean-up crews fit between crime scene investigators, detectives and coroners, but the focus here is less on exploring crime scene clean-up and more on setting up a set of unusual protagonists for what looks to be a supernatural mystery. The professional capability, combined with arrogance, in the lead character puts him right in line with protagonists like Gil Grissom or Dr. House, and it’s pretty clear that Wheaton and Fialkov have done their homework in terms of the clean-up tech and procedures. Rahsan Ekedal’s art is a treat, especially with the bright colors of Jon Graef. The open, sunlit feel of The Cleaners is a contrast to the grim and gritty look that’s usually present in this kind of procedural, and it works to give the book a fresh, approachable feeling despite its grim subject matter.