Hexed #1 (2009)

I saw this over at io9 earlier.

Michael Alan Wilson has unleashed Hexed #1 along with the capable Emma Rios, starring a female "occult" thief named Lucifer. Seriously. I love thieving main characters almost as much as I love the occult, so it's hard for me to be wholly objective here. Good thing I don't have to be. The first issue of Hexed kicks a lot of ass, and Lucifer seems poised to become another one of my growing list of beloved cutpurses.

The art is crisp and haunting, with a rather unique color scheme provided by Cris Peter that is both vibrant and spectral in turn. I have only read it in digital form, but once I pick it up on paper I have no doubts that it will be far better than the washed out LCD display of my laptop can show. Lucifer is an instantly likable character, surrounded by a surprisingly memorable and vivid cast. I would be hard pressed to tell you the last time I had a good picture in my head of every character I met in the first issue of a comic. Hexed imprinted it's denizens on me effortlessly.


Hexed does everything that the first issue of a comic should. It introduces solid characters, throws you into a subtly deep universe you'll want to keep exploring, and gets it's hooks in before letting you go on with your life. Wilson gives just enough hints about the mythos of his world to make it interesting without blowing his wad, and what little we see is dynamic, if not wholly unique. Interestingly enough, I am reminded on more than one occasion of Vertigo's Lucifer series, one of my all-time favorites. If Wilson manages to keep that up, only good things will follow.

Hexed also has a rather unique distribution model, with every issue being released both in comic stores and free online. If you're interested, you can grab the first issue from Myspace Comics (ugh) here. Once you've read it, I highly recommend picking it up from your local comic book store. I'm going to have to give some of Mr. Wilson and Ms. Rios' other work a look.


Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

http://www.boom-studios.net/hexed-1-cover-a.html

Grant Morrison, Dave Klein - Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition) (2005)

It's April Fool's Day and Commissioner Gordon receives a call from the Joker -- the inmates have taken over Arkham Asylum, and are demanding to speak to Batman.

As you might have guessed from the cover, Batman has to descend into the heart of darkness; Arkham Asylum, the former ancestral home of Amadeus Arkham turned mental hospital for the criminally insane after his mother committed suicide after a lifelong struggle with mental illness.

The one-shot graphic novel chronicles from many different angles the descent into madness, from the flashbacks to Amadeus Arkham and his encounters with specters and dread shadows in the halls of the old house, to Batman's own interactions with the criminals: Two Face, The Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, and Clayface among others.

The dialogue and story are top-notch, and the superb and creepy lettering play perfectly with the bizarre painted art. That art is really what makes the comic -- although the story is certainly good, the art pushes it over the top from just a good read to something very special.

Overall it's one of the best graphic novels I've ever picked up, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes comics, Batman, creepy surreal art, or just a good spooky story to enjoy with a steaming cup of coffee on a lonely October night.

Verdict: Epic Win (who cares for you? you're just a pack of cards)

Alan Moore, J.H. Williams III, Mick Gray, Charles Vess - Promethea (Book 1) (2001)

One thing I've learned over the years: anything Alan Moore touches is gold.

He has several amazing runs under his belt (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, From Hell, etc.) and is credited for single-handedly bringing literary merit to the comics genre. In my experience there's nobody that comes close to him as a writer in the field.

Now that the fellatio is out of the way, let me tell you, Promethea is no exception to any of those aforementioned comics. The story is fantastic: the main character, Sophie Bangs, an everyday girl from a neon-overloaded and dysfunctional New York City in 1999 is investigating a peculiar comic book character for an essay.

This character is Promethea, who is the reincarnation of sorts of the daughter of a 5th century Hermetic scholar and magician in Roman Egypt. In dying at the hands of a Christian mob, the gods intervene and wist his daughter into the Immateria, their realm of myth and imagination. From here the dream-concept of this girl wanders into the minds of various mortals who can in fact channel the character onto themselves or others.

I won't say more, lest I possibly spoil the story, but rest assured it's a typical Moore yarn: very accessible, yet heady and complex. The story is highly experimental, as is the art, which draws references from everything from film noir posters of the 1920s to M.C. Escher, to World War I poster artist J.C. Leyendecker.

Story-wise, Moore's interest in magic comes through, while featuring superhero action as well as metaphysical and psychedelic concepts prominently. For example, one part of the comic has two characters moving through a nightmarish, corrupted section of the Immateria: the ground as far as the eye can see is skulls, while bloody torsos hang from trees. A giant crow is in the distance, as are several launched warheads, and the sky adorned with roses that drip seemingly like blood. Trippy.

I knew after a bit of investigation that this would be an intensely interesting comic, if nothing else, but overall it's extremely compelling, and all the bizarre concepts mesh nicely without bogging down the heart of the story. I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the collections. Check this out.

Verdict: Epic Win