Review – Dead@17: The Blasphemy Throne #1 (Image Comics)

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer/Artist: Josh Howard
Release Date: 13th August 2014

Apparently, this is a cult classic, having made the transition from small press (Viper) to Image and kept legions of fans. I like a sassy occult romp, and was drawn in by clocking the cover in the back of other Image stories (well done there), as it was stylised and stylish, a wry fusion of Teen magazine and BigEyesSmallMouth, with a dash of Tron.

Unfortunately, a full issue of that turned downright irritating. It’s far too cheesecake, like a deviantart fanboy’s wet dream. It’s not cute, and it’s not clever. The disproportionate characters are a further distraction, and even facially they jar.

There’s no easy jumping on point for a long running saga, so we get a complex synopsis – and initially, it feels like this is as claimed a new chapter. But in truth, it’s fan service. The plot is convoluted and largely impenetrable, and whilst there’s glimmers of something interesting, it never gets me.

In writing this, I’ve realised that I don’t particularly want to rate this as low as I’m going to. It’s possible that I’m so put off by the art that it’s distracting me from the narrative. But at the end of the day, I would struggle to recommend this to anyone.

Rating: 1/5

PREVIEW ARTWORK.

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