The world has changed and five scarred survivors are intent on finding their own justice.
What They Say:
When five refugee survivors develop monstrous mutations from a devastating chemical explosion that leaves their city in ruins, they band together to seek revenge. But do these terrifying new abilities make them monsters… or heroes?
The Review:
While I grew up on superhero comics, and got my entry into comics with Star Wars, the mid to late 80’s were a wonderful time for a teenage comic fan as there were so many experimental and independent publishers and books out there that offered a taste of the non-traditional. While a lot of it was amateurish at best, there were some real gems in there. This was the feeling I got as I worked my way through the 48 page first issue of Freakshow, a three issue series from Ape Entertainment. The style and influences here certainly take some nods from what’s been established over time, but you can see other aspects to it as well and with my extensive manga and anime background, there’s definitely a bit of a flair from that arena in some of the designs.
Freakshow tells the tale of a world where its first superhero was recently introduced, a powerful man that was known by the name Vanguard. While he wasn’t an All American boy, the colors were definitely there and he came across as one that wanted to do right, one that gave hope to people. Over the course of just the first page of the book, we understand his introduction, the impact of it and then the tragedy that fell as a mysterious smoke not only claimed him in a terrorist incident but also claimed an entire city that he operated out of. That city is filled with smoke and fog, a dark gray and grimy place where there’s little moving. And even within those ruins, there are places that seem even more dead than others. In the midst of that place, a team is carrying out a transporter mission to deliver something to a scientist.
What this team isn’t aware of is that there are people that survived the chaos and biological containment that was the smoke. While they may have survived, they were drastically changed by it and these five people have a very distinct goal of visiting vengeance upon the scientist that they believe caused it all, knowing that the terrorism act was a lie. The five are intriguing with their abilities, with one of them turned ephemeral as little more than cohesive fog. Another is known as Rot as he was a corpse that clawed his way up from the grave and is able to cause others to fall away like him with a touch. Psychosis is certainly his namesake with how he can make people see things and their leader, Stronghold, looks every bit the name. Add in a wiry and lean young teenager named Critter who has some semblance of humanity, even as he wears a very creative and creepy oversized full head mask, and you have a group that certainly makes up the series name of a freakshow.
The opening issue spends a good part of its time at the start on the action as we see them take out the team that’s going through their territory as they want to keep their existence secret. This is the time they screw up though and one gets away, which in turn allows us to see what the story is on the other side as the survivor makes it to safe zone within the quarantine zone. It’s here that we get to meet Dr. Gaghen and start to get a feel for what’s gone on here, the lies that were told and the truth not only about the smoke itself and its origins, but that of Vanguard as well. It’s a tragic tale in the end as someone wanted to do good and to give the world hope and a sense of justice, only to see it all go wrong through other hands and the whole thing collapsed onto itself. Dr. Gaghen brings a sense of tragedy that works well but the intent to correct it even if it’s going to cost more in blood and treasure to do so. The slow build of events here works well as we see both sides explored and angling towards each other.
While the book is a bit disjointed at the start with its exposition and structure, what draws you in and makes you want to know more is the excellent artwork by Joe Suitor. The character designs are really interesting as we see them revealed, from the special suits the transport teams use to that of Critter and Rot and especially Fog when we see him coalesce enough. What really ties it all together is the really strong sense of color design to it as it uses a lot of shades of gray that help to build the sense of the dead city. It does work as a bit of a cheat at times to give you simple backgrounds, but with the setting itself it works in its favor as the shadows really add to the unease. The visual design of the book is one that’s definitely set apart from the norm and it has a really solid and consistent look throughout it that made immersing yourself into the world very easy.
In Summary:
With a 48 page opening issues, Freakshow has the time to really spend on working over the setting and introducing the characters without feeling rushed. It does an intriguing opening page and then throws you into something very different. When it shifts into more character driven material, getting us to know these strange characters, it only adds to the overall feeling of it. Both sides of the story are explored as the issue progresses and with this being only three issues, it does have the sense of being something fairly tightly written here with a sense of purpose. With some of the characters only getting a few panels to really show who they are, it comes across naturally and without being forced. There’s only a small portion of the world explored here, but it’s the kind that really leaves you wanting to know more. The story as it stands is one that has a lot going for it, but the expansion possibilities to the past with Vanguard are interesting as well as what could be done with the individual characters here. There’s a lot to like here, especially if you’re not keen on the whole superhero thing, and it has a really good polish about it that lets it stand out. Definitely worth checking out, especially for the number of pages there are for it.
Grade: B+
