This post was written by Nathan Alley for Big Shiny Robot. You can look at photos of him on Instagram @thebiggestnimrod
WRITTEN BY: Jason Aaron
ART BY: R.M. Guéra
COLORS BY: Giulia Brusco
LETTERS & DESIGN BY: Jared K. Fletcher
EDITOR: Sebastian Girner
PUBLISHED BY: Image Comics
Christianity has a pretty rocky history with comic books. From the open disdain Jesse Custer has for God in Garth Ennis’ seminal “Preacher”, to the Devil kicking him square in the holy jewels in “Savage Dragon”, the big beardy guy has had a rough go of it. In this grand tradition, “The Goddamned” opens with Cain (of Abel-killing fame) waking up face-down in a rancid, poisonous watering hole as a stream of urine hits him in the back of the head. One thing’s for sure; this ain’t your daddy’s Book of Genesis.
“The Goddamned” reunites Jason Aaron with his Scalped co-creator R.M. Guéra for a book so insane and nasty, the title might be the least blasphemous part. Aaron calls it “a Biblical caveman apocalyptic barbarian western noir”.* Translation: the side of your cousin’s airbrushed van meets “Mad Max: Fury Road”. Adapting the Bible as a piece of literature rather than a rulebook of religious ideals, “The Goddamned” plays with it’s iconography in accessible terms that you don’t need to be a Christian scholar to understand. Not only that, but this thing doesn’t sit and pontificate, it throws you right into the action.
The first arc, “Before The Flood”, is centered on Cain and his quest to find a way to off himself. Cursed with immortality by God for introducing the world to the concept of murder, he must wander the Mordor-like wasteland that Earth has become, endlessly taking in what his crime has done to mankind. The title would indicate that at some point we’ll see all of this washed away, and sure enough, at the end of the first issue, Noah arrives, looking like a roided-out George Clinton.
With an average of 50 f-bombs per issue, this is not the fun, lighthearted Jason Aaron who writes Thor. This is the dirty, grimy, profane writer of “Southern Bastards.” Many may find this book too punishingly dark, but there is an element of humor that comes from it’s total and utter irreverence for the modern interpretation of it’s source material. I mean, there’s satire and then there’s straight-up blasphemy. There are certainly no idols or saints in this book, only mythical figures with their own goals. Noah has arguably noble intentions and he sees himself as the hero of this story, but by enslaving women and children into his caravan and slaughtering anyone who gets in his way, he’s not really any better than the ravagers he protests to be destroying the planet. Although, when one of Noah’s victims reveals they’ve been eating babies, you kind of get where he’s coming from. Cain has a crisis of faith when he begrudgingly helps a woman looking for her son, but it’s yet to be seen if this version of the architect of original sin is being empathetic, opportunistic, or just naive.
Guéra and colorist Giulia Brusco paint this world in varying shades of disgusting and raw. You can practically taste the foul hot stench of the disfigured, anthropomorphic beasts, lumbering from hellhole to hellhole, looking for anything left to eat, kill, or screw. The Goddamned is crafted in a very different style than Scalped, full of two-page spreads and fantastical creatures so painstakingly detailed that each page could hang in a museum. There’s one particular pair of splash pages in the third issue where the art transitions from a paradise to it’s hellish remains 1600 years later that absolutely blew me away. This is Guéra’s imagination cut loose in a glorious style reminiscent of his European comic book roots.
I don’t think there will be a lot of wishy-washy opinions on this one. You’ll know pretty much from the first page if this book is your cup of tea. The Goddamned is for people interested in the grand mythological storytelling of the Old Testament but who fall asleep the moment someone starts reading them scripture. Whatever your reaction, you’ll have to admit there is nothing else like this on the racks right now.
The Goddamned #3 is available now at your favorite Goddamn comic book retailer.