The Scumbag #1
Image Comics 2020
Written by Rick Remender
Illustrated by Lewis Larosa
Coloured by Moreno Dinisio
Lettered by Rus Wooton
THE SCUMBAG—the story of Ernie Ray Clementine, a profane, illiterate, drug-addicted biker with a fifth-grade education. He’s the only thing standing between us and total Armageddon because this dummy accidentally received a power-imbuing serum, making him the world’s most powerful super spy.
This must be a dream come true to write. I mean think of the most crass individual you can imagine, okay him included, and then look at Ernie and boy o’ boy this guy is gonna give ‘em all a run for their money. He’s pretty much the definition of white trash and yet he still has this kind of likeability to him that’s hard to explain. I love how Rick is writing him the way he is here as we see him and are introduced to the kind of man he is. There is this completely serious undertone to what is at stake here and to superimpose this ratchet individual into the mix of that is something that few aside from Remender could pull off. What I see within these pages is some of the most intriguing and downright stellar writing that rivals his work on Seven to Eternity.
I am loving the way that this is being told. How we see the story & plot development constantly moving forward thanks to how we see the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented beautifully. There is this ease of movement in how naturally the story moves through the pages here and it’s really rather extraordinary to feel a part of. The character development is mind-blowing in it’s success and scope. I mean Ernie doing two things on the sidewalk alone should have been enough but then there’s more that happens before and definitely after this that is mindbogglingly impressive. The pacing is phenomenal and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, this world and all the twists & turns it is spectacular. How we see this being structured and the layers within the story as well as how everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow which I’ve already hit upon but it bears repeating that’s some of the most phenomenal stuff around.
The interiors here are bloody brilliant! The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques that are being utilised to bring out this level and quality in the attention to detail is insanely great. Normally this is where I say things about wanting more backgrounds to be utilised, and while I really would like that I am not going to go that route. The work we see stands alone and it is what it is and that’s all it needs to be. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling. The colour work that we see is in a league all of its own. How the various hues and tones are being utilised to create denim, puffy jackets, skin, you name it the realism of how the colour is laid down leaves you gobsmacked!
So with the writing being as good, strong and wickedly deceptive as can be alongside some of the best interior artwork that I have seen in a long, long, time definitely makes this one of the best reads you are going to experience. Rick is known for his phenomenal writing skill, talent, charm and uniqueness, and he’s pretty cute too, but for me this is as if he’s taken everything he’s got and he is doing something that for him is extraordinarily fun to create.
Image Comics 2020
Written by Rick Remender
Illustrated by Lewis Larosa
Coloured by Moreno Dinisio
Lettered by Rus Wooton
THE SCUMBAG—the story of Ernie Ray Clementine, a profane, illiterate, drug-addicted biker with a fifth-grade education. He’s the only thing standing between us and total Armageddon because this dummy accidentally received a power-imbuing serum, making him the world’s most powerful super spy.
This must be a dream come true to write. I mean think of the most crass individual you can imagine, okay him included, and then look at Ernie and boy o’ boy this guy is gonna give ‘em all a run for their money. He’s pretty much the definition of white trash and yet he still has this kind of likeability to him that’s hard to explain. I love how Rick is writing him the way he is here as we see him and are introduced to the kind of man he is. There is this completely serious undertone to what is at stake here and to superimpose this ratchet individual into the mix of that is something that few aside from Remender could pull off. What I see within these pages is some of the most intriguing and downright stellar writing that rivals his work on Seven to Eternity.
I am loving the way that this is being told. How we see the story & plot development constantly moving forward thanks to how we see the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented beautifully. There is this ease of movement in how naturally the story moves through the pages here and it’s really rather extraordinary to feel a part of. The character development is mind-blowing in it’s success and scope. I mean Ernie doing two things on the sidewalk alone should have been enough but then there’s more that happens before and definitely after this that is mindbogglingly impressive. The pacing is phenomenal and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, this world and all the twists & turns it is spectacular. How we see this being structured and the layers within the story as well as how everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow which I’ve already hit upon but it bears repeating that’s some of the most phenomenal stuff around.
The interiors here are bloody brilliant! The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques that are being utilised to bring out this level and quality in the attention to detail is insanely great. Normally this is where I say things about wanting more backgrounds to be utilised, and while I really would like that I am not going to go that route. The work we see stands alone and it is what it is and that’s all it needs to be. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling. The colour work that we see is in a league all of its own. How the various hues and tones are being utilised to create denim, puffy jackets, skin, you name it the realism of how the colour is laid down leaves you gobsmacked!
So with the writing being as good, strong and wickedly deceptive as can be alongside some of the best interior artwork that I have seen in a long, long, time definitely makes this one of the best reads you are going to experience. Rick is known for his phenomenal writing skill, talent, charm and uniqueness, and he’s pretty cute too, but for me this is as if he’s taken everything he’s got and he is doing something that for him is extraordinarily fun to create.
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