Image Comics 2015
Written by Jason Aaron
Illustrated by R.M. Guera
Coloured by Giulia Brusco
Lettered & Design by Jared K. Fletcher
Well hell what a way to start things off! I mean seriously I wasn’t sure what this was going to be about, I avoid things like Previews blurbs for a reason, but I surely wasn’t expecting anything like this! First let me say the visuals here are amazing, r.m. and Giulia really do an amazing job and it captivated me from the get go.
The boy missing an arm peeing off the ledge of a rocky outcropping starting things off and the introduction of our man well yeah that was more than enough for me to know I am following this to the end! Thanks too for not shying away from the full frontal it’s not often it’s unabashedly shown like this and I have to say it was interesting to see him go so long without clothing.
There’s a violence in the actions and language of this book that’s almost shocking but then not really. I mean it’s hard to see them using the same swearing that we do but for the feel and tone of what’s going on it is perfectly suited. It’s funny that at first I was taken aback by the use of such prevalent vulgarity till I started to realize what this book really seems to be about and then it became a way for Jason to relate to us just what state the world is in.
In a way the scenery we’re introduced to is reminiscent of what we saw in the movie Noah which as the story goes on is kind of significant. It’s bleak and dead and when we meet the Bone Boys yeah this story starts to take on a new meaning. It took what a week for Adam and Eve to be thrown out of Eden and it was Cain who created the act of Murder so it’s not surprising that this depiction is what the world became after all that. Once evil, greed and murder are introduced things do tend to go to pot. This is just one embodiment of it.
This is how you take events in the Bible and lore and weave them into a story that is profound, shocking and full of truths. Is it nature or nurture? Do we follow the crowd like sheep or do what we think is the right thing to do regardless how others see it? There are deeper questions raised when reading this story and while i’m not sure if Jason intended that to happen it certainly does.
Our main character this issue is really a badass and while he takes revenge upon the Bone boys for what they did to him all the while naked as the day he was born well yeah that was mightily impressive. Almost as much as the reveal as to whom he is and his lot in life as it were. The last page shows us a new player in the drama that’s going to unfold and I guarantee you this isn’t going to be anything near what you are expecting to see.
I’m infatuated, intrigued and definitely entertained while my mind races with thoughts stemming from reading this. Plus the interiors are amazing! Truly some of the most captivating, creepy, wonderful and mesmerizing images that really take you someplace you don’t expect to go.
This is a time when thought provoking stories like this are more important than ever and this one is amazing well told in both words and pictures.