Chances Are #1 - Matt Garvey Comics

CHANCES ARE No. 1, August 2022

Grabbing its audience by the scruff of the neck and hurling them into a deadly world where a person’s luck is the sole difference between life and death, Matt Garvey’s incredibly fast-paced narrative for Issue One of “Chances Are” will surely have many a bibliophile nervously perusing this comic with one hand over their eyes. Sure, the lethal events concocted by the super-rich to sate their penchant for million-dollar gambling bets are straightforward enough, such as a mad dash across an incredibly busy freeway blindfold until one of the contestants is turned into human jam. But the terrifying sense of speed generated by such exploits literally leaps off the page, and effortlessly carries the breathless reader all the way through to the end of the twenty-two-page periodical without any problems at all.

Furthermore, this comic doesn’t skimp in doing its best to provide its central antagonist, Bruce, with as detailed a background as it can in between the hero’s desperate attempts to evade a grisly demise. The smart-mouthed, understandably arrogant gamester has clearly become used to riding his good fortune whenever he can. However, that doesn’t mean for a moment that everything goes the young man’s way, as his imprisonment by a James Bond villain’s felonious syndicate attests. Indeed, this book’s writer is quick to point out that the guy feels “poor Dave” is the lucky one when he’s unknowingly mowed down by a freight van within seconds of ‘The Sprint’ starting and doesn’t therefore have to spend a couple of days anxiously awaiting the next terminal trial.

Just as well penned are this publication’s secondary cast, with Edward Royale proving to be a truly chilling piece of work, who’ll stoop at nothing to claw back his lost one hundred and seventy million dollars after betting against Bruce in a Poker World Championship tournament. The fact the crook is perfectly willing to cold-bloodedly murder young Grace simply to ensure her father cooperates with his fiendish plans speaks volumes for the crime lord’s sheer malevolency, and this savagery is further exaggerated by the ultra-violent conduct of his formidably sized lieutenant Hector; “Just keep making your wisecracks. When this is all over you’re mine.”

Adding a bucket load of gore and incredible amount of speed-lines to this comic’s sense-shattering shenanigans are the exhilarating layouts of David Cousens, who does a phenomenal job capturing the remorseless nature of traffic tearing down a stretch of road. In addition, the artist is terrific in projecting the raw emotions on display, such as the sheer terror being experienced by the unfortunates having to run out in front of heavy goods vehicles, or the sheer disbelief on the faces of the television broadcasters when Bruce attempts to win a three-million-dollar grand prize on the turn of a two of Clubs.

Written by: Matt Garvey, Art by: David Cousens, and Flats by: Rob Cloma