Just when I think I’ve got it.
Creative Staff:
Story: Paul Cornell
Art: Tony Parker
What They Say:
Bassist Alex Lodge owes a lot of money to his . . . “pharmaceutical representatives,” and now they’ve come to collect. With something satanic already afoot in their recording chateau, can the band make it out alive? The Mephistophelean misadventures of Motherfather continue, from Paul Cornell (Wolverine, Action Comics) and Tony Parker (Mass Effect: Foundation)!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This Damned Band has certainly been an engaging experience if a frustrating one. Those can make for some of the best experiences in the end because it has more meaning to it than something that just washes over you. You end up working to try and figure it out more, piece the various aspects of it together and come to conclusions about the truth and reality of it all. And that feels all the more important with a book like this where you can’t be quite sure what’s real and what’s not with it. Made all the more so by some excellent artistic choices by Tony Parker here that has you questioning everything and looking for deeper meaning in all of it. And pretty much making me wish I was a bit high while reading it so that it might make more sense.
After a very good issue that pretty much played us a haunted house piece with some really bizarre elements to it, this one feels like it goes off the rails a good bit and leaves me uncertain about the whole thing. Mostly, I’m just having to believe that everyone in the book is completely wasted and having a group hallucination or that they’re all experiencing something so utterly and completely otherworldly that it cannot be understood in full. Such is how it feels with the group that has now made its way into the residence in their all black bodysuits with gray masks and redbar faces. They’re here to collect the money that Alex owes them, but they’re just so unusual in how they look that it feels more late 60’s psychedelic than anything else. It makes for some tense time within the residence though since a lot of armed people threatening others that are either freaking out or high – or both – that it seems like it’s all about to come apart.
What becomes interesting is in how the tale is told as half of it is on camera thanks to the crew while the other half isn’t, as they weren’t in the room. These sequences are illustrated in a lighter and simpler fashion, more colorful and more comic-book-y than the main story with all its detail, and that just makes it feel all the more surreal. This follows some interesting material with Kev and his significant other that looks like it might finally put the kibosh on their relationship as nothing like threats of violence and a lack of protecting someone can make things difficult to reconcile. Though the story loses me a bit along the way as it goes kind of surreal but without enough grounding to connect to it, I loved the visual interpretation. Kev’s time with Santa is hilarious with how it’s presented and just the design of the characters with their faces and expressions makes it thoroughly engaging to dig into and enjoy from an artistic standpoint alone.
In Summary:
There’s a kind of slapstick side to this installment that definitely has its moments, mostly coming from the “men in black” that are there to get their money. It almost has a Benny Hill kind of element to it that you can imagine with them running around confusedly in the residence trying to bring all of this to a close. At this stage, with two installments to go, I’m still not sure what’s real, what isn’t, and what the point is. It’s a fun trip and it has some great moments, especially the reveals of the financial truths of the band, but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to put the most stock into when it comes to the story. It’s once again beautifully illustrated and Cornell brings some great dialogue to the project so it’s definitely a treat for us old folks, but I’m just getting more wary as it goes into its second half.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 4th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99