Creative Staff:
Story: Mark Sable
Art: Maan House
Colors: Hernan Cabrera
Letterer: Thomas Mauer
What They Say:
Insurgents in Syria are using a djinn as a weapon of mass destruction. Can the elite special forces unit known as the Godkillers help their Kurdish allies defeat this supernatural menace? Or, like other foreign interventions, will they only make things worse?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I am a bit frazzled at the direction Mark Sable is taking this series. I worry that he is tackling a little bit more than this series can chew. There are supernatural beings from all over the world creating chaos. Then you have different religions coming into conflict with one another. This issue has the characters facing a battle against internal forces such as themselves, society, nature, religion. They also face an external threat from other countries and supernatural beings. It could be this issue is attempting to bring the dangers of war into the forefront. War isn’t simply a question of who is right and wrong or who is strong or weak.
Alhazred is in battle with the supernatural creature, Djinn, but he freezes in a moment of panic. The Djinn forces him to confront his past and deal with the religion that he left behind. The history of why Alhazred should be explored a bit more. He is the main character of this series and it would help if he was further characterized. When he gets control of the Djinn and makes a decision that is to his sole benefit, it would have more impact if there was more information known about him.
I said this in my review for the last issue but the art continues to be gorgeous. Maan House and Hernan Cabrera do wonders in this series. They do an efficient job of setting a calamitous mood when monsters appear. The background colors blend in well to create a sense of dread.
There is a ton of supernatural monsters that this series is incorporating into the world but I want to see that slowdown. The last issue had the penangglan and the djinn. The djinn makes another appearance but the pennagglan has disappeared from view. As the god killers are traveling on a helicopter they get attack by a giant bird. Many people comment about the bird origin and how many cultures have a different name for it. I wonder if that exposition is necessary. I would like to more about why the bird creature attacked them in the first place. It just happens and the bird is shot by a bazooka and then the story moves on. Is the bird still alive or dead?
In Summary:
I would like to see the series have one central enemy or topic that it can focus on. Reading this issue feels it’s scattered in many pieces and I don’t see what direction it wants to take. Each issue has had a monster of the week but this feels like the wrong approach for this series. This series introduces the monster and gives a history lesson of each one. I wonder why they go to so much effort if they are going to be forgotten about in the next issue. The best aspect of this series is the art. The supernatural beings have incredible designs. The backgrounds create a sense of unease to prepare the reader for the subject matter.
Grade: C
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Aftershock Comics
Release Date: June 24, 2020
MSRP: $3.99
