Black Mask Studios 2016
Created & Written by Adrianne Palicki & Eric Palicki
Illustrated by Ari Syahrazad
Coloured by Jean-Paul Csuka
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Religious texts from The Bible to the Sumerian tablets speak of strange creatures descending from the heavens and mating with humans, their children the superhuman heroes of myth. None of this ever meant anything to Iraq War veteran Hannah Gregory, until she found herself in the crosshairs of a dangerous cult convinced that she's a descendant of these dangerous bloodlines... bloodlines they're determined to eradicate.
Wow okay colour me more than intrigued. I’m a sucker for anything that either proves or disproves things that are mentioned in the bible. From those who are considered angels mating with the women of man to the various explanations of what that means or the type of people that really entails. What is common among them all however is that if the bible is involved it’s usually a horror story of sorts. What Adrianne and Eric bring us here combines a hard nosed FBI Agent with a world where Angels and Demons exist and it’s the reconciliation of her ideals and her deceased father’s beliefs that sets the stage for something extraordinary.
Hannah is a pretty hard, cold woman when we meet her and her personality has been shaped through the experiences in her life. From this small town upbringing where she felt stifled to a tour in Iraq which led her to becoming an FBI Agent based out of Chicago. We see through her personality and through her interactions here the kind of woman she is. It’s very well done from a characterisation standpoint and I have to say she’s one of the least likely characters to end up believing in what’s being presented to her.
Then there’s the work Ari and Jean-Paul do on the interiors here. Such sharp, clean work with amazing attention to detail and the use of page layouts with angles, perspective and backgrounds really make this so beautiful. They do such an amazing job in showing us emotion and characterisation through facial expressions and body language. There are a couple of moments that really stand out in this as well and they’ve got that wow impact factor that will really draw you into the story.
The idea of a blood lineage that goes back to biblical times isn’t anything new but this is a new and different take on that. The results are those who would be seen as having too much Angel DNA and there are those with the opposite DNA and have created two opposing forces. One that would cause conflict, murder and mayhem between the two sets of descendants. It’s truly shaping up to be a battle of biblical proportions and it’s the dark side of all this where all this intrigue comes from.
With a strong premise and excellent storytelling, pacing and characterisation alongside some stellar interior artwork this delves into realms of the bible and it’s descendants in ways that will make you sit up and take notice.