Curse of Brimstone #1
Publisher: DC
Story: Justin Jordan
Pencils: Philip Tan
Inks: Philip Tan
Colors: Rain Beredo
Letters: Wes Abbott
DC’s “New Age of Heroes” line unveiled yet another #1 issue this past week, with Philip Tan’s and Justin Jordan’s Curse of Brimstone #1. The line has, so far, been a bit uneven, and many reviewers and readers have claimed that the new series are nothing more than pale imitations of entrenched Marvel properties (Sideways and Spider-Man, Terrifics and the Fantastic Four, Damage and Hulk). Curse of Brimstone is no different, with many people claiming it’s simply a rip-off of Marvel’s Ghost Rider. That type of myopic view misses the point, as the best comic book ideas are based on stories that have a deep connection to the human psyche. Ghost Rider is simply a re-telling of the story of Johann Georg Faust. Does that make it any less worthy to the comic book canon? Is the Curse of Brimstone merely copying ideas first presented in Ghost Rider, or is it digging into something deeper that’s part of the collective human story-telling experience and presenting it in a new way?
The Curse of Brimstone #1 begins in-media-res, a story-telling trope that has become more and more common recently, and then backs up to tell the story of Joe Chamberlain, a down-on-his-luck young man stuck in a poor rural town that’s been forgotten by the world at large. Tan’s and Jordan’s world creation skills in this first part of the story are at their best. Tan’s art really brings Jordan’s depressed small town to life. So many superhero comics take place in the big city, whether Metropolis, Gotham, or New York, that it’s easy to forget as a reader that these smaller, poor rural towns actually represent the biggest stretch of geography of America. The story-tellers dance a fine line between becoming too political, which could be a danger in this type of presentation. It would be very easy to make caricatures of the poor, blue collar residents of York Hills, turning them into cliché representations found in other forms of media. As well, the story could become a parable about the dangers of corporate America and how politicians always forget about “the little people.” These easy tropes are set aside though, and the creators instead develop a rich town filled of fully realized characters that are relatable and real. The town feels lived in and worn down, and Tan’s almost “fuzzy” soft images create a sense of warmth for the characters.
The panel designs are also unique and serve a story-telling purpose, shifting from standard squares and rectangles for certain scenes, then becoming loose and open-ended in others to provide a sense of the unstructured, “road to nowhere” on which Joe seems to be headed, and then shifting to chaotic, non-traditional panel shapes to provide a sense of unease for the more supernatural scenes. These are all complemented by Beredo’s coloring, which have a subdued, almost otherworldly quality which is perfect for the type of story being presented. It gives the scenes an almost odd 1970’s film filter to the colors, helping to tie the story to some of those old 70’s horror pictures.
Interestingly, it’s in the characterization of the main character, Brimstone, where this first issue falls a little flat. Side characters such as Joe’s sister, Annie (a cheery diner waitress studying to be a nurse) and Joe’s dad (an injured factory worker on disability who is sinking into depression and alcoholism) are very well-defined, as are secondary characters such as kindly neighbor Mrs. Gearheart and the town sheriff. Joe himself is more of a standard character type – no job, no prospects, and stuck in a poor rural town. His desire for a better life for his sister gives him some depth, but by the time the Faustian deal comes to the forefront, he seems all too quick to accept the offer of a slickly-dressed city attorney that he’s just met. Even the overall structure of the “deal” between the two is poorly defined; Joe is told that “the home office” sent a salesman to find places that have potential and a chance to “change these town into places like the world has never seen.” That’s really all Joe needs to hear before he accepts an offer to become an agent for the home office. There is never any discussion of what business the home office is it or any details on how exactly they are going to help the town. Joe goes into the deal blindly without asking any questions. After all the work that went into developing the town and the characters and to show Joe’s love for them all, his immediate acceptance of the offer, without even wondering what exactly the “home office” was going to do to make the town better, makes it difficult to then get back into the story. When the inevitable betrayal occurs, it comes as an almost “it serves you right” moment as opposed to a learning moment for Joe.
Ultimately, the future of the Curse of Brimstone will be told with its second issue. As with most of the New Age of Heroes publications, the art is the star while the story, though intriguing, needs room to breathe and explore topics and themes that go beyond the traditional story tropes presented in their origins.
Martin Thomas
martin@comicattack.net
