TITLE: Die Hard: Year One, Vol. 1
AUTHOR: Howard Chaykin
ARTIST: Stephen Thompson
COLLECTS: Die Hard: Year One #1-4
FORMAT: Hardcover
PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios
PRICE: $19.99
RELEASED: April 13

It’s John McClane’s turn to get the year one treatment, as Die Hard: Year One explores the origins of the unstoppable action hero when he was a lowly New York City cop.  When I first heard about this comic, I was stoked seeing how I am a huge Die Hard fan.  On top of that, I always wondered what the early days of McClane were like, seeing how he was somewhat of a veteran even in the first Die Hard film.  Is Year One an awesome spectacle of McClane’s exploits, or does it fall flat like Hans Gruber?

To be honest, I am sort of mixed on this one.  One, it is very interesting to see McClane in regular Cop clothes—and with a full head of hair!  To see New York in the summer of 1976, celebrating the country’s bicentennial celebration is also a very obvious and Die Hardish set up.  However, the story as a whole is odd and very awkwardly executed.

My first problem is the constant monologuing.  Imagine if you heard the inner thoughts of McClane in the movies; the dialogue would be cluttered and would get in the way with the action on screen.  Only in the comic I found my eye darting around far too often because keeping up with all of the sporadic text.  It didn’t hinder my comprehension of the story, but it made for a very annoying read at certain points.

Die Hard #4, Page 15

The other problem is story itself.  You will not find a high octane action fueled rollercoaster story here.  Nope, no seeing McClane perform the impossible and flaunt it in the face of death, for the most part.  The story is a crime drama, while told well, just does not feel like Die Hard. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t go into this thinking McClane would be shooting two rifles and shouting his most famous catchphrase at all times.  It’s just that it’s very disorienting to see a Die Hard storyline to be so tame.  I didn’t expect, or want, his origin story to outdo any of his movie adventures, but even McClane himself looked bored.

Having said that, the artwork is gorgeous.  McClane looks a little strange to me, but that just might be his 70′s hair and law enforcement attire throwing me off from what I would expect from the Die Hard films. I did feel like I was looking back into the 70′s as I turned through the pages.  The only problem I had is that some of the facial expressions were a bit too cartoonish for me.

At the end of the day it is only worth checking out if you are a hardcore Die Hard fan.  I do have hope for the series as time goes on because it does end with more potential for John McClane to really get himself into trouble, like we are all used to seeing.  However, for now, Die Hard: Year One isn’t much to brag about.

5/10