John “The Hand” Smith is a simple man with dreams as big as his giant-sized right hand. It’s not clear whether it’s an affliction or something born of brawling, but he is not a man to mess with. His best friend, Bootsy moves faster than he talks–and that’s fast! This is a friendship that can survive anything–even the Depression.

Dock Walloper is the creation of filmmaker/actor, Ed Burns. You may know him from 15 Minutes, Saving Private Ryan and Brothers McMullen and he’s a natural candidate to bring a story that Virgin Comics is seeking, which is a modern myth from diverse storytellers. The films he writes and directs are stories he wants to see rather the compromising to a mainstream audience. See what I mean? Ed was made for comics.

As a proud Irish-American, Burns is always looking for ways to tell character-driven stories featuring Irish-Americans. Together with comic vet, Jimmy Palmiotti, they’ve crafted this world very carefully resurrecting the dialogue of the 1920’s and 30’s, a
New York City full of harsh prejudice, and organized crime born out of Prohibition. And the time they put into it shows. Dock Walloper is original, admirable, and nails everything one looks for in a story: characters you want to shadow, a setting and struggle
that ignite your imagination, a taut script and dazzling visuals.

Siju Thomas bursts onto the scene carrying out Burns’ surreal cinematic world. Like a cocktail of a young David Lapham and Toulouse Lautrec, Thomas uses expressive brush lines and an inventive color palette (consulted by Laura Depuy Martin). There’s no mistaking new and old, this is 1920’s New York, complete with back-alley brawls, biplane advertising, and Ford Town Car Limos barreling down the street next to stagecoaches. Once the story leaves the docks and heads into the streets, the art really takes off. Whether it’s Tommy guns bursting hell into the air or red-headed femme fatales, Times Square has never been lit so well.

Virgin has assured us a book worth celebrating the New Year with its best debut yet and in no small feat, one of the best comics I’ve read all year. They continue to take calculated risks and with Dock Walloper the payday has come because of all of their entities, this is one that I truly believe will make the jump, but in due time, for now I’ll enjoy this for the next four
issues.

Click here for our interview with Ed Burns and Jimmy Palmiotti.