Two-in-One Review: Devilchild Volume One Babysitting can be such a pain, even on a cosmic level. The pay sucks, and you can't imagine the kind of trouble you're in if you lose track of the Devilchild. Don: Randy and I see plenty of self-published comics come across our desks, created by writers and artists just starting out in the medium. Rarely, though, does one see a self-published graphic novel from such a neo-pro. Join us as we take a look at this adventure into long-form comics storytelling... with a touch of anthology thrown in for good measure. Randy: You're right, this is an unusual project from new talent, an oversized black and white graphic novel with solid production values and some decidedly strange subject matter. Devilchild Volume I: Hell Is Round the Corner published by Moonface Press written by Andy Winter illustrated by Natalie Sandells, Tim Twelves, Tim Doe & PeeT! Don: Troy's a regular guy. At 21, he likes to go clubbing, practise with his band and hit on attractive young women. But then again, Troy is kind of unusual. He's an orphan, and his best friends ever since he was five years old are two attractive, adventurous young women. What Troy doesn't know is that they hang around not only because they like him, but because it's their job to protect him. His heritage is an unusual one, and the choices he makes will decide the hate of the underworld. The art on the main story, by Sandells, tells the story capably, but she clearly has some more development ahead of her. Her eye for anatomy needs some refinement, but I have to admit that the most important thing she needs is the tools of the trade. One can clearly see that a marker was used to fill in shadows and other large black shapes throughout the main story. It does not make for a solid black look, and it's more than a little jarring. Randy: I'm afraid I must agree with you here that Sandells has some work ahead of her. The storytelling is clear enough, but the art style looks a bit rough. The characters are somewhat misshapen and inconsistent, and the expressiveness on the faces is limited at best. And you're right, it shows through very clearly where a black marker was used. While this is fine for convention sketches, and some artists can make it work in their regular assignments, in this context it just comes off as looking somewhat cheap and amateurish. Don: As for the backup stories, Twelves's work on "Velocity Girl" is far too crowded. His linework is too thick for the tight panels he employs. The same can be said for PeeT!'s work on "Dosh and Pecs Do Time Travel." Doe's work on "Feathers," on the other hand, is surprisingly strong. A mish-mash of styles comes into play in his artwork, from strong realism to iconic super-hero figures. He not only tells the story well, but he captures the disconnected, supernatural atmosphere as well. Randy: We agree on all points. For the most part, the art here was passable but clearly still in the rough learning stages, and I definitely agree that Twelves's work was way too crowded. However, as you note, Doe's work is very solid, and it seems worth mentioning that "Feathers" is a silent story, but Doe conveys the sequence of events very clearly, with only a few "cheats" of words lettered onto signs or letters by Winter to help clarify story points. Don: As for the writing, Winter's plot for the main "Devilchild" piece is a clever one, and I enjoy how he takes his time building up to the real point of the story. There are some fun and raunchy turns of phrase, and the script flows quite well (even though the lettering placement isn't always as strong), making it easy to follow the story with its frequent scene transitions. My problem with the story, though, is that it keeps shifting in tone. At times, it's a comedy, and at others, a tale of mythic battle. And Winter does either one well. Unfortunately, the story doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, and it makes for a scattered read. The different tones don't work together. Furthermore, I found the dialogue seemed to keep flipping back and forth between PG and R modes. Randy: I didn't really notice a shift from PG to R modes... I figure once you've crossed into R-rating, you're stuck there no matter what the rest of the dialogue looks like. I can agree that the tone is uneven, as well, but I think the strongest leaning is towards a bawdy comedy book, and Devilchild mostly succeeds in that regard. I could have used a few more belly laughs rather than the occasional chuckles that the story engendered, but the idea of a political shift in Hell, and Satan being disappointed in his son, or the two half-fallen angels who guard Troy were all wonderful little story elements. The story did seem long on setup and too quick on resolution, especially when too many pages are spent on a battle that is visually unimpressive, but there's definite potential there. Don: Turning our attention back to the shorter segments, "Velocity Girl" is a super-hero/celebrity satire piece that's too effective in getting the reader to hate the "heroine." "Dosh and Pecs" seemed to rely on the reader's prior knowledge of the characters (and as far as I know, this is the only Dock and Pecs story). Randy: I agree with you about "Velocity Girl," with a lead character that makes Sex and the City's Samantha look positively restrained and virginal, but I thought "Dosh and Pecs" was perfectly clear for what it was, a time travel story that is mostly a commentary on bad marriage with a familiar ironic time travel twist ending at the end. It was "Feathers," though, that really stood out as the winner in this book. Don: Fortunately, "Feathers" is a diamond in the rough. Just as the art on this short story is the strongest in the book, so is the writing. Winter does well with the silent-story technique, telling a charming little story that reminded me of Neil Gaiman's "Chivalry," a short story -- from his prose collection Angels & Visitations: A Miscellany (and Smoke and Mirrors, I believe) -- about an old woman who has the Holy Grail on her mantle. Overall, Winter and his artistic collaborators offer up a decent read, but all concerned still need to develop their skills in their respective crafts. For more information about Devilchild, visit www.devil-child.co.uk. Email Randy and Don comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.