A few times each month Mexicus Prime will be teaming up with another member of BSR to review a completely random comic. Top or bottom of the pile; first, last or middle issue of a story arc – literally anything he can get his hands on will be haphazardly reviewed with extreme bias.
FERALS, ISSUE 1
AVATAR PRESS COMICS
STORY: DAVID LAPHAM
ART & COVERS: GABRIEL ANDRADE
COLOR: DIGIKORE STUDIOS
Mexicus Prime – Not so much random here. I am really starting to get into this new series from AVATAR PRESS and wanted to share my love with y’all. As a fan of horror and most sub-genres, I had to give this new title a few reads. With all the glitz and glam associated with werewolves and vampires now-a-days it’s refreshing to read something more catered to the monsters that gave me nightmares as a kid.
Right from picking this book up you can feel the quality in the paper and overall weight of the comic, which is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum (production-wise) to let’s say, “Avenging Spider-Man”. Just a solid feeling, well colored book, the way a comic costing $3.99 should feel.
David Lapham, as first introduced to me by Vagatron, has been one of my favorite writers and someone who can help me indulge myself in material that’s, generally speaking, a bit twisted. Picking up this title was not difficult on that merit alone. It was the chance to experience a new artist whom I’ve never seen before, Gabriel Andrade. Thank God -or Merlin for that matter- that Gabriel’s work is superb! The panels were pretty general for the most part, but the realistic artwork really jumps off the pages. I prefer his style to Javier Barreno’s (which I do enjoy). I feel that he tells a better story with his art, and unlike the title “Crossed”, is a little easier to digest.
The story in issue 1, for the most part is what you would expect an AVATAR PRESS werewolf comic to flow like (Sex, Violence, & Gritty suspense). I really enjoyed the suspense and danger in the comic, but wasn’t really surprised until jumping ahead and reading issue 2. In issue 1, you’re left with (story-wise) an ending you were waiting for from the first few panels of the first page. In closing, I’d suggest reading/ sinking (your teeth) into the first 2 issues of the series to see if this suits your “Mature Reading” needs. I’m glad I did.
Arse-bot – Jesus Christ. I really don’t think Mexicus Prime could have picked a genre in which we have a more different taste in. I don’t mind a good “horror” comic, but as far as fucked up imagery goes, it’s not really my taste. I knew within the first few pages that I wasn’t going to dig this title when (SPOILER) a mutilated body is found in the woods with his own dingaling dismembered and shoved into his mouth. Werewolves are obviously violent creatures, but to go as far as to consciously go through the trouble of dismembering a penis and shoving it into the victim’s mouth? (END SPOILER) Seemed a bit over the top for me.
That being said, Andrade’s art was very good, and I agree with Mexicus that all of the images, whether they be mundane, violent, sexual, or sexually violent really jump off the page. For me though, Lapham’s story was nothing terribly unique in this first issue. If you take away the way-over-the-top graphic violence of this story, you basically have a pretty standard “small mountain town being terrorized by monster” story; but for those of you who like a little fucked-uppedness in your comics, there is definitely some flare added to this story that you’ll probably enjoy.
At the end of the day, Ferals just isn’t my cup of tea when it comes to picking up comic book titles – but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad purchase. I have plenty of friends who would find this to be right up their alley (read: all of them), and I know there’s a pretty big market for this genre out there. If you consider yourself to be a fan of this genre and like somewhat similar titles like Crossed, then Ferals should not disappoint. For the rest of you like me who prefer the pages of your comics filled with standard superhero fare, I’d probably pass.