By: John Rozum (writer), Frazer Irving (artist)
The Story: If anything has ever validated my fear and loathing of trick-or-treaters, this is it.
The Review: The world grows more devoted to the laws and products of science all the time, but the supernatural still holds a powerful grasp on our imaginations and curiosity. It’s been used to answer all the questions logic and empiricism can’t, to explain the mysteries science has made no headway in. The supernatural is at its creepiest and most intriguing when it brings to life the stuff our rational minds know better to accept, but we subconsciously still wonder of.
This issue plays on exactly that, one of the best examples being the rustling husk, a creature whose grim origins are described as follows: “Those dead wasps and yellowjackets you see littering your window sills? These homunculi hit men are made from swarms of their ghosts, driven mad with desperation at trying to get through the window glass to the outside.” The concept is at once startling, frightening, tragic, wildly imaginative—and thus irresistible.
Really, the greatest strength of this series is the originality of its many ideas: the bullets embodied with the powers of the saints, the miniaturized prison for supernatural criminals, the “snow angels” whose very bodies warp space, the soulless Halloween children—the list goes on and on. Many comics go through dry spells of several issues before they deliver a fresh idea, and some never offer any at all. On that point alone, Xombi deserves a ton of praise.
But the grander and more far-reaching ideas have more risk of confusing the plot. Rozum is not totally immune to this. James Church got introduced to us as a reader infected by a book virus turning him into a real-life Mr. Hyde. Now we find that complicated setup is a blind for a much more ancient, destructive creature, sealed within the miniature prison without the wardens’ knowledge. Left unchecked, these twists can quickly become discouragingly bewildering.
But there’s little reason to worry, since the strength of Rozum’s writing should convince you, all will be revealed in time. He has a knack for spending a considerable amount of time explaining things, but always gripping your interest. Maybe it’s the intense bluntness of the dialogue (lines like “If we’re seen, I’ll kill the children” certainly have a way of catching your attention), or how expertly Rozum cuts from scene to scene, never stifling you in one place for very long.
Now that the plot has evolved from tracking down a cursed serial killer to confronting God’s rage incarnate, it’s clear Rozum has some very high-stakes plans for this title. He’s also expanding the cast by the minute, joining our Catholic ladies with Rabbi Sinnowitz and his warrior golems, and Julian Parker, who can seal ghosts into coins. As long as Rozum can write them as well as he writes everything else, the more the merrier.
Irving art has found perhaps the most ideal venue for his style, as his particular character designs and monochromatic coloring lends an eeriness perfectly at home with this title. Lord knows how you’d react if you’re an artist and given the task of drawing a rustling husk in a high-collar trench coat, with a paper wasp nest for a head, and a ray gun made out of an unidentified animal’s skull. It’d be hard to even conceive such a thing, but Irving makes it look horrifyingly natural.
Conclusion: Everything a supernatural/occult title should be; it’s like getting a Vertigo title in a mainstream comic book—and frankly, that’s not a bad standard for mainstream titles to aspire to.
Grade: A-
- Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: - Can anyone think of a line more pervy than, “Your hair looks so silky, I’d like to wipe my bottom with it”?
Filed under: DC Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Catholic Girl, David Kim, DC, DC Comics, Frazer Irving, John Rozum, Julian Parker, Nun of the Above, Nun the Less, Rabbi Sinnowitz, Xombi, Xombi #2, Xombi #2 review
