DEFIANCE #2 (Best of the Week!)
"The Messenger, Part Two"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Image Comics
Writer: Douglass D. Barre
Artists: Kanno Kang & Zack Suh
Letters: Robert Chong
Editor: Kwangsik Koh
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
The first issue of this title impressed with its highly imaginative and detailed art, and the way the creators blended science and myth to great effect. And then, in the second issue, they do an even better of job of it all. This book boasts moments that are disturbing, but it balances those elements with a down-to-earth humanity in not one, but several key characters. Though not reading this book are missing out on something as inventive and unique as The Red Star.
Lord Syrus has sent a mortal agent -- Ivan -- back from the dead in Hell to carry out a mission on Earth, but all Ivan wants is his life back. His return to the mortal plane was a raucous one -- he destroyed a Hellgate in a conflict with the police -- and Syrus's demonic agents -- Cleo and Lym -- must track Ivan down before he causes more damage or attracts any more attention.
The art in this book is overwhelming. Visions of Hell and the monsters to whom the mayor reports are chilling, not only because of their horrific appearance, but how realistically they're presented. Cleo is something of a monster as well, but the artists have instilled in her a beauty and grace that says a lot about her character. I would imagine fans of Joseph Michael (Dawn) Linser would find this work to be to their liking.
Barre presents the reader with a world not only of violence, but of politics, both earthly and infernal. There's a complexity in this book, not only in the plot, but in the setting and circumstances that serve as the background to the players. Technology and the supernatural merge into seamless, imaginative and awful amalgams. The landscapes are bizarre but hauntingly real.
The book's greatest strength is the dialogue. Barre has developed true voices for Ivan, Cleo and Lym. Their experiences and origins should make them thoroughly alien characters, but there's a believable tone to their voices. The narration also gives the reader a great sense of who Ivan is, or was, I suppose.
There's a TheFourthRail.com quote on the cover of this issue, referring to this title as perhaps the "next big thing." Given that I haven't heard too many people talking about Defiance, I guess that's not the case. Too bad, because it definitely deserves wider attention and acclaim.
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