Reviewing comic books are quite different than reviewing a novel. First, writing a review of three hundred words about a piece of literature that is less than three hundred words requires creative thinking. Second, any review of a comic book that does not mention the illustrations is not worth its weight. Arch Enemy #1, the first comic book I will review, is astounding in both a literary and illustrative sense.
Arch Enemy #1 by Lars Kramhoft is the first installment in a comic series published by Octopulp. The comic introduces the anti-hero, Marvin Kazinsky, who decides to rob an electronics store with three friends to pay for his mother’s expensive surgery. Kazinksy works at a grocery store, where he battles asinine customers, the tedious boredom of a cash register, and depressing thoughts about the origins of our food. The comic also introduces The Star, an all-seeing, seemingly perfect superhero who keeps all of the city’s citizens in check and out of crime. Most mysterious of all is the weapon that Kazinksy brings with him to the robbery—a gun obviously not of this world.
I really wished that this comic was longer or, instead, that there were more issues released, because I wanted to know more about the fate of Kazinsky. This comic appears to be influenced heavily by Watchmen by Alan Moore as I can easily imagine Rorschach’s voice as Kazinsky and that The Star and Ozymandias would get along grandly. Kramhoft did an amazing job of painting an intriguing glimpse of this world in so very few words and pages as well as providing perfect panels of images. Someone who could not read could easily follow the story of this comic because the illustrations are so perfect. I truly enjoyed it and am definitely download Arch Enemy #2.
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