It’s 7:16 AM on America’s birthday. A young John McClane, fresh out of ‘Nam strolls down his beat in a pressed blue uniform. The year is 1976, and John McClane is about to have his first very bad day. When you see the title, “Die Hard,” most of you think yippie ki yay mother fucker, some remember Sam Jackson, some of you younger ones may even remember McClane launch a car into a helicopter (I feel sorry for the young ones).

Whatever memories the title may invoke, Die Hard stands out as one of the finest action film series’ ever done. So does Howard Chaykin’s (Dominic Fortune, American Flagg)Year One keep the momentum going?

Yes and no. Yes, Die Hard takes place in 1976, yes some messed up stuff happens, and yes McClane is involved some how. Beyond that, and without spoiling, I couldn’t say much more. To a younger reader, the story may seem convoluted, who is allied with whom and what is the over all plan? A lot of this centers on a murder, and involves a native New Yorker and two police men.

The trick to the book is character development. Plenty of narration will guide you to introductions for these characters and provide outside information, like Rosie Haskell. Rosie “moved to Manhattan from a wide spot in the road in Indiana six months ago.”

Well written dialogue colorizes them and brings the vibe of the city literally off the pages at you. A personal favorite of this book was the prevalence of the Mustache! Realize it is ’76, mustachioed policemen were common, everyone smoked and cell phones were the size of bricks and only belonged to shady millionaires.

The narration is spot on, taking its careful time to give you each and every tidbit it needs to for you to understand the story. It’s this film noir twist that makes me feel like I’m looking at John McClane as Max Payne in Die Hard. None of which would bother me in the least. Writing like this keeps the pace of the detective side of the story steady, and the mood authentic.

Stephen Thompson’s art is done well, some very careful renderings of facial expressions, expressive gestures, spreads that feel alive.  Matthew Wilson’s color barely adds value, although if you’ve ever been to New York, you know there isn’t much color to be seen. There’s poetry to the captions and the art, a feeling that this series was thought out visually and cinematically. To simplify it, you end up with the same sensations you would watching The Departed.

Issue 3 hits stores today and the biggest question in my mind is whether the series will dive into hardcore action sequences or delve deeper into the many unfolding sub plots slowly closing in on John McClane. Since the writer was kind enough to give our dead man a name, I’m left wondering just how significant he was. Die Hard Year One isn’t the same stuff you see in the films, but that’s not why we read comic adaptations of movies, is it?

I’m Rich and that’s how Comics Impacted me.

Rich@comicimpact.com