Chaos/Dynamite Entertainment 2014
Written by Tim & Steve Seeley
Illustrated by Javier Garcia-Miranda
Coloured by Mike Stefan
First off the writing here has been phenomenal and at times incredibly humorous and at times vulgar and over the top testosterone laced dialogue making this so fun to read. It really does embody Ernie and Smiley in the best possible way and make me happy that Dynamite found the boys who could do this.
There’s something different about the artwork this issue as well. The lines that make up the mustache seem to be gone but then suddenly it seems he’s more Joker-esque in some panels instead of being full faced. Dynamite unfortunately has this problem of not being able to really nail down the look on the interiors which is a shame considering how good the story is. Everyone else in this story has pretty badass and the scene with the reanimated animals is pretty freakin awesome. Rick wasn’t really consistent throughout this as well if a character is going to have that body modification or whatever the symbols are they need to appear in each panel he’s in and then the last page where did the hair come from and why didn’t he seem as built as he had been?
Back to the story at hand. Mary has had an awful lot to deal with traveling with Ernie and Smiley but somehow she seems very much at home with them. It’s like it’s meant to be that she’s a part of their life and story. She adds some sort of humanity to Ernie that’s been missing and has given them someone to care about so that it’s not just straight up psychotic crazyness. Not to worry though because this is Ernie we’re dealing with and there is plenty of that as well.
The dialogue here is fantastic I love the almost nonsensical stuff that comes out of both their mouths. Mary’s warning about texting was hysterical and kept everything completely in character. You can tell that Tim & Steve are really having fun writing this book and that is infectious for the reader as well. One of the great things about this medium is that you can get lost and have fun in a story for a bit and this helps you forget about things and just enjoy the weirdness that is Evil Ernie.
I love the fact that this whole story feels like a setup for the direction the character is going to take. That Mary’s brother is one of Hel’s men and will be a recurring villain on their tail. There’s a solid foundation here for a great run and as long as the boys can keep writing the book they have been there I see no reason why this shouldn’t be the most successful Chaos run from Dynamite..