Review – Evil Empire #1 (BOOM! Studios)

Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Max Bemis
Artist: Ransom Getty
Release Date: 5th March 2014

Just how does a society end up as an Evil Empire? This is the question Max Bemis is asking in his new series from Boom! Studios.

Set in a contemporary-looking USA, Bemis looks like he’s pointing the finger firmly at all of us (and presumably himself), regular folk who sleepwalk their way into oppression by their inactions, greed or ignorance.

The story centres around an underground rapper called Reese, our eyes and ears in a world that is close enough to our own to be all too familiar but with enough slight differences to maintain a sense of mystery to Bemis’ worldbuilding.

It’s the art that really shines in this first issue though. Ransom Getty’s clean lines and expressive characters come over like a cross between Gary Frank and Rags Morales and really make this a debut issue that grabs the attention.

Highly recommended.

Rating: 4/5.

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The writer of this piece was: Jules Boyle