“I was born on August 5th, 1894, at St, Vincent’s Hospital to Thomas and Helen Moore.
My father was an officer for the Los Angeles Police Department.  In 1904, he became one of two officers to work for the city of Hollywood.
My earliest memory is the feeling of stubble on his face and touching his shiny badge.
The last time I saw him, I was 15 years old…”

Since the death of her father, Abigail Moore had wanted to be a police officer.  But, in the up-and-coming town of Los Angeles, only three out of the two hundred officers are women.  And, apparently, that’s enough for them.

But, over the hill, the burgeoning Utopia City Studios (a thinly disguised Universal, circa 1915) is more than willing to take on attractive young women to keep order while furthering the growing Dream Factory image of the movie industry.  Abigail is about to find out there’s more to making your dreams come true than meets the eye.

In this limited-series premiere, writer David Lucarelli (The Children’s Vampire Hunting Brigade) draws from his family’s own history to tell the strangely timely story of a woman’s struggle to be taken seriously in a job in which even her employers treat her as window dressing.  It’s an interesting tale, though a little slight at this point.  In setting up Abigail’s life and her place in the heavily male-dominated world, Lucarelli makes her motivations clear and strong and shows with a few quick and easy strokes the lengths to which she’ll go to get what she wants. It falls just short in giving us an idea of exactly what she’s up against; however, a few hints of the currents swirling around her, outside of her knowing or her control, give a nice hint of what’s to come, and Lucarelli finishes the issue on a literal high note, giving both the reader and Abigail a glimpse of just how far outside of her experience she may really be.

There’s a vintage timelessness to artist Henry Ponciano’s simple, yet strong, graphics. Not flashy or showy, his strong hand fits this story of a woman finding her footing in a town built on illusion.  I’m looking forward to seeing where and how far this tale will go.

“Don’t be a weisenheimer.  This isn’t going to be your ticket to sippin’ champagne on easy street.”
“No, ma’am.”
“Are you a hard worker?”
“Yes, ma’am.  And I can type thirty-five words a minute.”
“…Why would that matter?”

Verdict:        FOUR Hollywood Walk of Fame Stars out of FIVE

Creative Team:  David Lucarelli (Writer), Henry Ponciano (Artist)
Publisher: Alterna Comics
Click here to purchase.