Dirk Tiedes tells the tale of Detective Katheryn Mcallister, a tough Chicago cop with a habit of not looking before she leaps. Her partner, Mike Stuart, is a level headed martial artist who acts as a buffer for her and the other cops she butts heads with. The first volume starts off very Law & Order, a mauled body is found near the train yards with Katheryn and Mike sent to investigate. Everyone thinks it is an escaped animal from the zoo or a rabid pack of dogs. That is at least untill Katheryn starts having dreams to attacking the victim in a very wolf-like fashion. That’s right people, werewolves!
This is Miami Vice meets Werewolf By Night, without all the overdone occult stuff. A true breath of fresh air when it comes to the werewolf genre, I have several things to rave about this comic. First are the stunning detailed backrounds and cityscapes, that give it a grounded feeling. No random floating bodies against white walls here! Each scene is thoughfully set with a single well detailed panel that most artist need half a page to draw. But Dirk Tiedes, the writer and artist of Paradigm Shift, pulls it off without it looking cut and paste.
The second thing that impressed me about this book is the realistic cops. Proper proticals on cases and investigations have been often over looked in the past. Many writers find it hard to get the facts straight, from which is real life and just the latest CSI show. Carefully inserting the true facts into the story, we get personable characters that seem more human and less like bad TV.
Finaly I wanted to point out the most important thing in this comic, in any comic really. The great story. Avoiding the horror movie angle could have made Paradigm Shift lose it’s edge , but I see it as gaining a new one. Mostly set during the day, you get a cop show feel that sets it up to be a realistic event occuring. Not just some random c-list horror comic. Well thought out, and plotted out over three volumes so far, it has set the bar for excellent indy comics. A must read for any fan of Police Shows or a werewolf fan in need of a new tale.
Check it out for yourself at www.paradigmshift.com