Behemoth Entertainment 2020
Written by Massimo Rosi
Illustrated by Giuseppe Costabile
Coloured by Renato Stevanato
Lettered by Mattia Gentili
Preparations begin for the most exclusive end of the world party, all organized by the fantastic Satanist dandy cardinal who works for the Anti-Vatican in order to bring the Antichrist back to Earth. Where will you be when the party begins? Well, our Cardinal Dagon will be in America, ready to unleash a pandemic.
I am such a huge fan of this little book! The opening here is a perfect reason why, as Cardinal Dagon and his bodyguard, for lack of a better term, are at a popular fast food chain where through a sequence of events unleash one of the plagues. I keep saying that Massimo is one of today’s hottest new writers and that there are few who can hold a candle to what he’s able to do and this right is a great example why. The way that this is being told is scripted absolutely beautifully so that there’s no mistaking what I consider brilliance. The emergence of a writer such as this is something that doesn’t happen very often and when it does you need to sit up and take notice, also by contacting your shop and having them order this for you.
I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told and how we see the story & plot development constantly moving forward. We see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information which are presented beautifully. One thing leads to another and Dagon is kind of having the time of his life. However in both Vatican settings things are being seen very very differently. How this is structured and how we see the layering within the story coming to life makes for very interesting and similar situations. The character development we see is phenomenal and never have I seen someone having as much fun doing what they love to do as Dagon is here. The way that we see the characters act and react to the situations and circumstances that arise really help to bring us a continually shaping vision of who they are. The pacing here is perfect and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it is easy to see how everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow.
The interiors here are gorgeous! The linework is fabulous and how we see the varying weights and various techniques being utilised here to create the detail work that we see is beyond amazing. The emotions that come off the characters here can be felt by the reader; they are so well construed. While I would like to see backgrounds utilised more it’s actually okay as what we do see and how the creativity and imagination that’s on display here is truly marvellous. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a superb eye for storytelling. The colour work we see here really something extraordinary. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is incredibly well rendered.
This is the kind of storytelling that ignites something within the reader and keeps them coming back for more and more. Unconventional, engaging and the kind of outside the box thinking that finds a way for the reader to connect with in some obvious and not so obvious ways. Trust me you will want to read this and you’ll want to keep reading Massimo’s work wherever you can find it.