Coffin Comics 2016
Story by Brian Pulido
Written by Mike Maclean
Illustrated by Joel Gomez
Coloured by Ceci De La Cruz
Lettered by Marshall Dillon
You have no idea how happy it makes me that Brian’s back into making comics. While the story may be his and he’s got a very talented group of people bringing this to life it still is a very welcome addition to my reading. I’ve always appreciated the dark humour and power his women yield while also being these incredibly sexy individuals. It’s the only balance where a woman can be barely clad and yet not come off as a sexist diatribe and yet still be admired for their chutzpah.
We open up with a hit and I got to say it sends a pretty powerful message. Immediately we see that Mama Z is not to be trifled with, she means business and is utterly ruthless. This tells you the kind of town, village or small city, this takes place in and what you can expect as the story unfolds. All can be done when telling a story with just a few pages if it’s told the right way without having to spend time later needlessly telling background information stories. This is the way it should be done.
This is also the story of Florecita whose back from Afghanistan and home among her family once more. Her brother Xavier has ties to Mama Z and that’s the catalyst for what we see unfold in these pages. It provides us with motivation and desire for La Muerta to come to life and seek justice for the innocents and rid the town of the festering evil that people like Mama Z represent.
While the Mama Z has her network, enforcers and bosses throughout the town we meet a couple that will be Florecita’s supporting cast. Faustino, an old drunk now but one with more than a colourful past. Former Army Medic, former hitman and now hears voices in his head and drinks to cope with it all and after Forecita showed him kindness he returns the favour and then some. I love this little old drunk and hope that he doesn’t fall prey or victim to revenge should Mama Z figure out who they are. Then there’s probably the one honest cop in town, Detective King, who also happens to be devilishly handsome and isn’t going to cry with Mama Z’s people out of the way.
I like the interiors here, the way they flow through pages and panels to tell the story is well done. There’s emotion and feeling from the work here that just helps the reader connect with the story more. The look and feel they bring to this and Dia De Los Muertos throughout the theme of the book is pretty spellbinding.
With a strong premise, characterization and room for growth and evolution this is why we love the books Pulido and his crew puts out. Strong, emotional and sexy this is why we love comics.