Two-in-One Review: Defiance #1 Don and Randy take a look at the newest talent and the newest book from Image, the science-fiction/fantasy epic Defiance. Randy: Image has had a fair amount of critical and sales success with standalone series outside their partner studios, including Powers, The Red Star and Aria, to name but a few. Defiance is the latest venture by outside creators publishing through Image, and it looks like another strong addition to their stable. Don: Writer Douglass Barre sent his special preview edition of the book -- a high-quality advance look at Defiance sent to retailers a while back -- for review. This is a high quality book that takes comic art to a whole new level, just as Team Red Star did with their title in 2000. I expect Defiance will see only a quiet debut, but it deserves more attention. A closer look will definitely turn heads. Defiance #1 preview published by Image Comics written by Joey Lee & Douglass D. Barre illustrated by Kanno Kang & Zack Suh Randy: It's always difficult to tell, when reading Previews solicitations, which new books are going to be good, especially when the talent involved are unfamiliar. Happily, Don and I sometimes get previews of the books sent to us, and as a result we're sometimes able to see new talent that we might otherwise have overlooked. In my case, at least, getting this preview of Defiance has turned me on to a book I might otherwise have ignored. The notion of stories set in or around Hell have resulted in more than a few Image books that didn't click with me, including Hellcop, Inferno and most of the Spawn line. However, Defiance is different, with a very political vision of Hell and some flat-out gorgeous painted artwork. Don: In a dark future, a war rages in Hell, and the upstart -- Lord Syrus -- is losing. Satan is keeping close tabs on him, so Syrus arranges for a mortal agent to be sent back to the living world and do his work from that side. In New York City, two of Syrus's demonic agents -- Cleo and Lym -- watch as that mortal soul makes his way through the hellgate, only to face satanic warriors and a SWAT team. Randy: I'm a story guy first, art guy second, so if you want to hook me, you have to have a good story, and Defiance starts off strong. The back and forth between Peiret and his master Lord Syrus in the beginning is funny, giving each of them a clear personality and laying out the basics of the conflict pretty quickly. I'm intrigued by the idea of a demon rising up against Lucifer, and playing out the conflict on Earth. It's not an idea that has never been done before, but I'm hard-pressed to think of when it has been done right. Don: I don't think the story itself is all that unique; this is a variation on a familiar theme, and it reminded me a little of The Matrix. No, the strength to which Randy refers is in the dialogue. Barre's scripting makes unbelievable characters believable. There's a down-to-earth tone in the dialogue that conveys personality and plot quite effectively. Cleo may be a demon and an assassin, but she's believable because of how well the writer conveys just how bored she is. Randy: While the writing is good, it's the artwork that knocked me back on this issue. Mixing gorgeous color, photo-realism and a surreal approach to backgrounds gives Hell a truly frightening and otherworldly look without losing the story in all the atmosphere. Their image of a slightly futuristic New York, bathed in blue and surrounded by high-tech military, is just as vivid and impressive. The artwork does sometimes look a little posed, more like frozen moments than panel-to-panel storytelling, but that is a problem that occurs a lot less than it usually does with painted or computer-generated artwork, and in general I was drawn into the story by the believable and yet haunting backgrounds and characters. Don: The art is stunning. It seems to blend the look of painted work with digital art and traditional pencilling. The most striking aspect of the art is the sense of design at play in the settings. They're meticulous and inventive, imaginative yet almost plausible. The characters are dynamic and convey their extreme and intense nature well. For such a stark story, the book boasts a brilliant array of color that's bright but never works against the more grave and eerie plot elements. Randy: I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say that Defiance has been influenced by the "everything but the kitchen sink" genre approach and balls to the wall action of Hong Kong films. The mixture of humor and horror, the snappy dialogue and the terrific fight sequence as the messenger emerges from Hell to find himself in a fight all remind me of the best of those kind of films, kinetic and fun. Don: At first, I thought the book's title was a rather generic and uninspired one, but it actually gets the heart of what the book is about. Syrus is defying the order of things in Hell, just as his agents are prepared to do in New York City. Ivan, Syrus's new agent, boasts a defiant soul as well, and I would expect that he'll soon be turning his back on the dark forces responsible for his resurrection. Randy: Defiance strikes me as a "next big thing" book from Image, based if nothing else on its distinctive and beautiful artwork. However, what intrigues me more than that art are the notes in the back indicating that the book is a long-form series of mini-series with a planned ending. It's been a while since someone has started up a long-term series with a planned ending, such as Preacher, Hitman or Transmetropolitan, and right now I have plans to follow Defiance all the way to the end. For more information about Defiance, visit their site. 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