Aftershock Comics 2017
Created & Written by Garth Ennis
Created & Illustrated by Russ Braun
Coloured by John Kalisz
Lettered by Rob Steen
Alright we’ve got a James Bond knock off by Garth Ennis here so what’s not to enjoy? Honestly while I love Garth’s work after The Boys everything is going to seem kind of tame by comparison so trying for shock factor isn’t going to work anymore. Just go for the storytelling aspect, a strongly told, well structured story is more powerful than a slinging dick and the rantings of a madman with Tourettes.
Honestly i’ve seen the horny British Agent who left his seed out there before so what is really going to set this one apart? With blatant porn versions and comic version such as The Illegitimates there’s nothing all that new about what i’m seeing most of this issue. I say most because it’s the ending that separates this from the crowd. Also I had my suspicions that something was going to happen and not surprisingly it did just as I expected it to.
So what the book may lack in terms of originality it certainly makes up for in entertainment value. Between Garth, Russ and John the opening is pretty darn spectacular and highly amusing. I do like that Regent is like a cross between James Bond and James West and his villains that we meet remind us of something out the Doom Patrol’s Vertigo run. Altogether it’s both visually fun as all hell and intellectually it’s just a hilarious romp through the wildest of adult humour. I mean Theo’s rantings and ravings aren’t those of a madman but a man who seems to suffer from Tourettes and that alone is kind of funny in a way we shouldn’t be laughing about but can’t help ourselves.
Russ and John’s work on the interiors here is utterly spectacular! The attention to detail is phenomenal and the colours are bright and out there. The way page layouts are utilised through the use of angles, perspective and backgrounds beautifully flesh out the larger picture. They enhance the reading experience, the violence is sublime in it’s subtlety and the faces and facial expressions brilliantly cool.
The characterisation and character development is spot on. While I cannot get that clear a bead on Regent and why he does what he does, i’m not sure even he knows anymore, and his newest partner tries to call him out on it but he claims otherwise. So really his ulterior motives seem more overt than his true one and it’ll be interesting to learn why he’s the man he his and does what he does. I mean he could be a massive womanising prick who fucks his way through life without a second thought, or condom, but there has to be more doesn’t there? If not then kudos to Garth for making us ask the question.
This is fun and wrong in the best of the wrong kind of ways. The satire is delicious and the jokes, puns and direction bring more than just a smile to the face.