[Comic Execution] 5/9 – ‘UNDERTOW’, ”NAILBITER’, ‘BURN THE ORPHANAGE’

LAST TIME ON COMIC EXECUTION:

“Captain, the hull’s been breached!”

“Evasive maneuvers!”

“We can’t, Captain, impulse drive’s not responding!”

“What do you mean, not responding?!”

“They targeted our sublight propulsion systems! Unless we go to warp, we’re sitting ducks!”

“Will hull integrity hold long enough?”

“By my calculations, there is a 67% chance the ship won’t make the jump to warp intact.”

“Dammit, we’ll just have to risk it. Engage!”

…I hate Star Trek. This is why you never let a child grow up watching ‘Deep Space Nine.’ It’s just a terrible thing to do. But anyway, my “ship” is back in action, so to speak. Technical difficulties cut off my access to digital comics for a couple weeks and then I spent last week writing up questions for my interview with UNDERTOW writer Steve Orlando, which you can read here. Rather than try and play catch up right away, COMIC EXECUTION will continue to stay current, though I’ll try to revisit issues I might have missed, when I can.

---

UNDERTOW #3

Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Artyom Trakhanov

Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3 (Digital)

FULL DISCLOSURE: The writer and co-creator of UNDERTOW, Steve Orlando, contacted me on Twitter to ask if I would interview him for my column (which you should read here). I consider this to be an honor, regardless of my feelings about UNDERTOW. I know my column doesn’t get much in the way of pageviews so it’s hard not to take it as a compliment, even if it’s standard procedure for a writer to aggressively campaign for exposure, even for tiny blogs. So, I don’t know, maybe my review is biased because he liked my blog enough to bother with an actual interview and that’s cool? Whatever man.

This volume of UNDERTOW marks a turning point for the story of the conflict between Anshargal’s resistance movement and the forces of Atlantis. By immediately reminding us of the threat from Atlantis itself, Orlando makes Anshargal’s present struggle for survival above-ground even more dire. The perfectly timed reveal of the abomination called The Amphibian, aka Kishar Gelal, compounds the suspense as he takes Anshargal prisoner, driving the first layer of UNDERTOW’s narrative further into intrigue; why doesn’t Kishar just kill them, as he clearly could’ve done? As they discover more about Kishar’s relationship with the primitive humans, the political tensions below the ocean’s surface, in Anshargal’s home, are boiling out of control. Orlando isn’t kind in his depiction of the dissidents, giving their discontent with the absent Anshargal an obnoxiously demanding tone. What’s interesting about this is that they are ALREADY part of a rebellion against Atlantis, yet here they are, angrily voicing their displeasure at the lack of leadership.

To me, though, the real draw of the story is how much we’re shown of Kishar, the Amphibian. In this issue, I can’t help but think of him as an anti-villain; not only does he rescue Anshargal and friends from death at the hands of primitive humans, but he then treats them less like prisoners and more like guests. Does he have an ulterior motive for keeping them alive? Probably. Does it justify the moderate amount of respect he gives them? Not really. He’s already shown them his true colors so he probably doesn’t much care what they think of him, which makes me think he’s either truly Chaotic Neutral or playing a bigger game. And given his remarkable traits, I’m betting on the latter. Regardless, his enigmatic but thrilling introduction this issue reeled me in even as the continued conflicts elsewhere escalate.

The first three pages of this issue cannot be described, as artist Artyom Trakhanov submerges everything in a menacing murk of dark purple, poisonous magenta and gloomy azure to the point where it’s hard not to feel a bit woozy looking at it. Fortunately, it’s a very good companion to the lurking peril it illustrates. A punchy bit of vertical panel percussion segues into the core narrative perfectly, like a well orchestrated instrumental break between tracks on an album. But if this is a transition from one song to another, the new piece explodes in your face with a massive, frantic two page spread packed with carnage. The panel layout remains jaggedly crooked then settle slightly back into place a page later, as though recovering from the burst of intensity. Brilliant.

After the exposition heavy crowd scenes back on The Returner, marked by a duller color pallette infused with expressive character work, another splash page cuts through with the debut of the Amphibian. I’d like to thank Artyom personally for a gloriously bloody throat ripping. Also huge thanks for not pulling his punches with the Amphibian’s glorious nudity, serving to totally psych out the reader. The final page’s fetid swamp is positively claustrophobic, thanks to an acid orange sky, but that lethargy is snapped by a splash of crimson dropped in with a one-two mini-panel punch.

UNDERTOW is, hands down, my favorite art I’m reading right now.

The second issue of this series was touch-and-go but this brought it right back up to speed and more. Still a steal at $3, so really, the only excuse you have to not go buy this series right now is that you don’t trust me. In which case, go read someone else’s column.

---

NAILBITER #1

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Mike Henderson
Colors: Adam Guzowski

Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3

Serial killers are the new black, let’s face it. Shows like ‘Hannibal,’ ‘Bates Motel’ and ‘The Following’ (to name a few) have humanized, if not romanticised fictional psychos and sociopaths alike. Right around the time forerunner ‘Dexter’ was reaching critical mass, we started seeing comics riffing on the trend, with titles like ‘Bedlam’ especially evoking that series, though ‘Hack/Slash’ really ran parallel with it almost, except that series was more Voorhees than Lecter. Regardless, the genre has really taken off as of late and NAILBITER is clearly a play at that craze. But it’s also written by Joshua Williamson of ‘Ghosted’, a series that has been received well in this column once before, so it’s with only a bare modicum of cynicism that I evaluate NAILBITER.

The opening scene is what you’d expect; cops find the eponymous serial killer amidst a grisly scene of human carnage… shirtless? It’s actually less blood-curling and more grimly humorous, especially since there’s the nonsensical half-skeleton positioned in a chain with a skull resting at the base of the chair. The whole scene is… off. My immediate assumption is that there was something else going on entirely. This also correlates to a rather odd line from the cops as they arrived on the scene, stating that they “needed him alive” for some reason. We’re only two pages in and already I’m knee deep in unanswered questions. It only gets worse from there as we encounter our suicidal protagonist, Finch, who is suckered into helping his friend, the investigator who captured the Nailbiter. I’m really not sure I like how this scene is setup. Let’s work it out for a moment.

I get that this is supposed to be a black comedy. ‘Ghosted’ had this same tone of mockery so I’m not taken aback by how off-handed such a grim scene is. And, of course, it could be said that the gruesome opening should disarm what seems like a pretty rough character introduction. But that’s just not how it landed for me. Is it possible that the interruption isn’t supposed to be funny? The only theory I have that makes sense is that, while he is going through the motions, he doesn’t actually want to die, and this has become a ritual for him. Which is actually a pretty solid way of showing us who this guy is. Here’s hoping that’s what Williamson had in mind.

Finch’s arrival in Nailbiter’s serial-killer-infested hometown of Buckaroo immediately immerses us in a noir atmosphere, complete with a killer dame, though she’s high-school aged. We get a taste of surrealism with a bee stinging the protagonist, hinting at some far-off malevolence, and that moment is kind of exciting for its unsettling weirdness.

Williamson uses a local and his serial-killer hobby shop as a feasible way to deliver exposition on the town’s first killer. One of the first things I noticed is that the dame I mentioned earlier? She has almost the exact same eyes as Nailbiter’s precursor, Bookburner. Not to mention the local thugs who harass her nearly call her out on being his heiress. Except the shop owner claims HE’S the Bookburner’s progeny, even though he seems to totally lack those signature peepers. Again, MORE questions. All this happens to circle around a bit of gender politics as Finch intervenes to get the girl’s antagonists off her back, which she naturally resents, since she was pretty well taking care of things. And then HE responds to some more heinous misogyny from the thugs by smashing their faces in. It gets pretty muddled, honestly. Again, Williamson keeps it vague; should we really be cheering for Finch when not only did the girl NOT want his help, but that he’s the one escalating the conflict by giving in to a knee-jerk violent response?

Williamson is slowly building a portrait of a guy who barely has himself in check and this is apparently a thing he has been struggling with for a while. I’m actually kind of impressed by how subtle the character development is. And by the end of the book, as Finch’s investigation into his missing friend leads him to the Nailbiter himself, I’m quite excited to find out just what kind of guy he is. Also, there was another nice little shock moment on the way to Nailbiter’s house that I won’t give away, but it was really well timed and, despite being a bit cliche, got me real good.

The art is from a pretty well-traveled pro who I’ve never read but seen before and while I’m not blown away, I feel like I probably am not supposed to be. Much like Williamson’s writing in this book, Mike Henderson’s art has a certainly carefulness to it, relying on a lot of basic visuals to methodically tell the story; there’s a moment early on where what appears to be a vague background has, if you’re paying attention, autumn leaves swirling in the background, which almost prepares you for the next scene. Even rich, heavily detailed interior scenes feel lean and inconspicuous, though close examination reveals some nice surprises (Hello, ‘Twin Peaks’ deer head). Again, this is quite welcome, as Henderson’s restrained style lets the atmosphere breathe, and colorist Guzowski ensures that every page is heavy with moody, deep hues.

As the back of the book claims, NAILBITER aspires to be a combination of ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘SE7EN’ and while I think it has nods to both, it personally brings more to mind ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ in the best kind of way. I’m hoping the series develops more of a ‘Twin Peaks’ vibe as it continues but, really, if it can just retain this level of refined storytelling, Williamson will have secured his place as the first COMIC EXECUTION repeat offender.

---

BURN THE ORPHANAGE: REIGN OF TERROR #1

Writer: Daniel Freedman & Sina Grace
Artist: Sina Grace
Colors: Renee Keyes

Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.50

Grace and Freedman return with their sequel to the highly unusual but utterly enjoyable ‘Born To Lose’ debut arc. Getting to the point, the game has changed quite a bit with this new arc, REIGN OF TERROR, and not necessarily for the better.

The setting has returned to protagonist Rock’s nameless home city, but it’s now a dystopian nightmare and his close friends have changed somewhat. Well, actually, just his girlfriend Jess; his best friends Bear and Lex were already street-fightin’ badasses so I guess the desperation of the situation is something they’re used to. Freedman and Grace do a solid job of establishing how it all went down as Rock and crew escape the streets, but a moment of comedy at the expense of Bear’s girth falls a bit flat, probably due to its incongruity with the more grim menace compared to the previous arc.

Some new characters get introduced, which is cool, and then we get a map of the gang’s new HQ. Huh? This one made me scratch my head. ‘Born To Lose’ featured some of these little meta-visuals but they were all part of the retro video game-centric tone of the series. This, though, looks more like something a dungeonmaster would draw if she was running a BURN THE ORPHANAGE rpg. I’m honestly not sure if this was the intended reaction, though. When Rock realizes the woman who betrayed him in ‘Born To Lose’ #1 is part of the gang, he gets understandably pissed. But his dismissive attitude when the gang comes to her defense is really just irritating. The final twist is intriguing and caps off an intro to a series that, while not boring, lacks much of the weirdness and humor that helped BURN THE ORPHANAGE stand out initially.

It doesn’t help that Sina Grace’s new art style is a big visual downgrade. The grungy aesthetic of the dystopian setting grates on the nerves after a while and the more uncontrolled, messy look does the action scenes no favors. This is compounded by utterly flat backgrounds throughout most of the book. Freedman still draws great characters and his robots have an appropriate level of cheesy grimness, but none of it holds a candle to the work done in the prior books. Colorist Renee Keyes actually helps significantly with holding it all together, gracefully evoking classic ‘80s robo-dystopian classics with neon blooms, sickly gloomscapes and blasts of laser light. Particularly thrilling is the bright red explosion in panel 4 of page 7 that’s preceded by a delightfully ominous silhouette outlined in that same ruby glow.

BURN THE ORPHANAGE: REIGN OF TERROR #1 is a $3.50 book that’s only 20 pages, which is a higher per-page cost than the previous series, another strike against it (not to mention more expensive than NAILBITER’s debut). But there’s actually 26 pages of content here; the last 6 are a flip-side backstory called ‘Liberty Justice.’ It’s an interesting sci-fi funk adventure in the vein of Jim Mahfood’s work and, if it was a standalone book, I’d be totally into it. But only six pages is barely an appetizer and, frankly, trying to cram two books into this series is doing a disservice to them both. We’ll see if the next issue marks an improvement; if not, BURN THE ORPHANAGE is getting the boot.