I can’t believe I’m going to make this complaint–writer Victor Gischler has way too much structure for the first issue of Kiss Me, Satan. At least at the beginning.
He adopts a three act structure for the issue. He introduces protagonist Barnabas Black–apparently some kind of fallen angel trying to get back into Heaven–on the run from some demons. Except Barnabas isn’t the focus of the issue, but the leader of the werewolf pack.
Gischler gets to him and his problems in the second act. The third act is bringing everything together.
The comic is best when Barnabas isn’t around, especially when he’s not narrating. Gischler doesn’t do well with the narration; he makes it all sound hackneyed, but he and artist Juan Ferreyra are able to sell the rest.
Satan’s fast and often funny. But having a boring character for a protagonist’s never a good thing.
B
CREDITS
Writer, Victor Gischler; artist, Juan Ferreyra; colorists, Eduardo Ferreyra and Juan Ferreyra; letterer, Nate Piekos; editors, Shantel LaRocque and Daniel Chabon; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.
You hit the nails on the head, sir. While the visuals are scrumptious, the lack of a decent lead may drag this down. Still, much better than several debuts lately, and I have hopes for the second issue. The artist Ferreyra also had a good run on the series Colder, from Dark Horse, that finished recently.