When bad things happen, we all play scenarios out in our head. The mind vividly portrays every detail, no matter how gruesome or violent, and no matter how hard we try, the mind makes us see it. It could be a clever play out, where everything works out in the end, or it could be utterly horrible and without any sense of hope. Such is the case with Rebel Blood. During a massive tragedy that takes place in the issue, we get to see not only reality (in the sense of the comic) but several ‘what if’ scenarios played out too. I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s slow down a bit and start at the beginning. Let’s go ahead dive into Rebel Blood #1.
Chuck Neville is a Firefighter. Having had an accident earlier in his career, he was sent to Fire Tower #6 deep in the forest. After his accident, his family life fell into shambles, slumped into a sort of depression and started to neglect things. Getting sent to the fire tower didn’t necessarily change his mood, but it at least made him mobile. With all this back story aside (we get this much later in the issue) this is how the issue starts off: Chuck is face to face with a rabid, mutated pack of wolves. They seem to have devoured… something. Whatever it is, they tore it apart, and now they want a piece of Chuck. With only a shotgun in hand, Chuck proceeds to dispatch the mutated animals one by one. After this, he heads off toward the only person he thinks could be alive in this mess: Poacher Danny Whitehead.
This is a non linear story, with a lot of mental fantasy put in. It’s very cleverly written, but not entirely confusing. Alex Link and Riley Rossmo (also the artist) craft an intricate story that starts in the middle, goes back to the beginning, and leaves you on a cliff hanger at the end. Mix all of that with a window inside the imagination of our character Chuck, and you get a story that is not only visually disturbing, but written in such a way that it really has that sense of dark and forboding dread hanging over the concept of the entire series. It’s not the Walking Dead. It can’t really be compared to that, as there are no zombies. Instead, this virus, or whatever it is that’s causing the mutations, affects everything living. It’s not the dead rising from the grave, but the living being grotesquely mutated into mindless killing machines. Even with all that, Alex and Riley manage to write a story that you can follow, and a character that you hope is going to stay alive. This has me hooked.
Riley Rossmo’s artwork reminds me so much of 30 Days of Night, or even the Walking Dead. Where you can’t compare the two in a literary sense, visually they have the same style. Quick, aggressive lines, and gritty attention to detail make this visually striking. Though it looks hastily penciled, a reader paying attention will see that much attention was paid to detail. Nothing is overlooked, and with the words put to these type of visuals, it just makes the story that much more impressive.
From the moment I started this issue, it had me. The cover itself is enough to grab your attention, but if that doesn’t do it, take a look inside. I think I’d be more afraid of this than zombies. Zombies I can at least speed walk past, but stuff like this? I’m not a fast runner, so I’d probably be devoured rather quickly. Either way, at least I’d have given the book a good review, right? That’s gotta count for something.
The thing I liked the most about this issue was the scenarios Chuck played out in his head. As he’s rushing to find Danny Whitehead. He’s playing out in his mind just how he would save his family. Some of it is good, some of it is rather disgusting, but the point is that all of us have done this in just about any situation. Here, Chuck’s imagination is put in front of us to laugh and shudder at. It’s a great comic that has a great concept, and it’s one that I’m definitely going to follow.
Script: 9/10
Artwork: 9/10
Parental Concern: Grisly violence and disturbing images.
Rebel Blood hits comic shelves on Wednesday, March 21st.
