CAE Studios 2014
Created by Martin Dunn
Written by Martin Dunn & Ashley Olien, Richard Elms
Penciled by JT Hurst, Jeremy Calderon, Lee Melton, Beth Varni & Lee Kalha
Inked by Derrick Fish, Matt Storer, Jeremy Calderon, Lee Melton, Beth Varni & Lee Kalha
Coloured by Jeremy Calderon, Beth Varni, Jeremy Calderon, Lee Melton & Lee Kalha
Sometimes you find a creator and then discover the work they’ve done and you realize how exciting their ideas are and you find yourself looking forward to seeing what else they have up their sleeve. This is one of those cases. The idea that Joshua Black comes from a very specific bloodline taps into something we’ve seen and thought of since well the crucifixion of Christ. The Idea that Mary Magdalene had his child and his descendants are alive today has been researched and speculated and using that as his premise was a great start.
These are the first four issues of the series collected together. The fourth one is a collaborative effort where different teams tell vignettes about the characters in the story or in the world he has yet to encounter. The first three follow Joshua’s life and learning of his lineage and the cause and effect of the actions presented to us. The first introductory issue well that’s the biggie, it’s the one that determines if you are going to want to stick with the story and it manages to draw you in and leave wanting to know more about everything that’s to come.
I appreciate that Joshua Black is Jewish, most people forget that Jesus himself lived and died a Jew and that Christianity wasn’t formed until well after his death. I won’t go into what I think about all that but that Martin has decided to keep that aspect alive and well shows real attention to what he’s using as his source material.
Joshua doesn’t have an easy life his father blames him for the death of his mother and sister, drinks heavily and hits the boy lashing out in his own anger and not being able to have protected them. The boy feels the burden of that guilt himself and carries a great weight on his back, much like Jesus carrying the cross. The parallels here are extremely well done. So is what happens when his heritage is awakened.
Issues two and three shake Josh’s world up completely. The full impact has yet to be fully realized but suffice it to say that not everyone is happy with this new reality. We meet new characters who have kept an eye on Josh over the years coming to light. Two Archangels, who pose as his weird uncles which is pretty hysterical actually. Though the whole deal with his sister well that leaves another storyline wide open for interpretation. Mr. Levi who Josh has known his entire life is well the devil and his daughter Tessa. Tessa well she’s delightful and adds another dimension to things.
Friends, family, destiny and all kinds of weirdness that combine to make this one heck of an interesting read. As Joshua tries to come to grips with everything that’s happening and all these characters popping into his life well I gotta say it certainly does give new meaning to divine intervention. Yeah it’s hard enough to be a teenager managing friends, girlfriends, family and school but add to that what he’s now capable of doing and well things are bound to be get out of control awfully quick.
This has to be one of the most fun and original looks at the most famous of bloodlines.
The interior artwork is very well thought out, executed and believable. The body proportions are great and the use of pages, panels and backgrounds really help keep the story moving along in a nice visual way.
This is why we support independent creators and love hitting up artists alley at conventions. New delightful series or trades that take something we’ve all at least heard of and put a completely new fresh spin on.