Brimstone #5
Publisher: Zenescope
Writers: Michael Lent & Brian McCarthy
Artist: Hyunsang Michael Cho (cover by Jason Embury & Anthony Spay)
The renegades sent to retrieve the gold (they initially thought it was just to investigate) have encountered “flesh walkers,” which are basically zombies. It’s apparent after this issue that they won’t stop until the gold is returned to its rightful place. This creates an obvious problem for thieves that want to keep the gold for themselves and be rich beyond their dreams. Honestly though, does a dead man dream? Rather than dive into that philosophical question, let’s just say that a betrayal by Irish (killed Chen with a Gatling gun), has left Viper, BlackJack, and Annabelle pretty much screwed. They are all that’s left of the posse of renegades, and an army of flesh walkers is bearing down on them. With their numbers dwindling, and another member soon to be infected, do they even stand a remote chance of getting out alive? My guess is no, but I’m definitely coming along for the ride to see who lives and who dies!
The deeper this book goes, the more I like it. Lent and McCarthy are showing us a cool look at the zombie craze going on right now in the entertainment biz. This is one of those books that reads more like a movie script than a comic book. It reminds me of the Image book The Vault in that aspect. I could definitely see one of Hollywood’s young up and coming actors portraying Viper…maybe Ben Foster or Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Or maybe even a seasoned guy like Leonardo DiCaprio or Orlando Bloom? Who knows, but when you read this, you get a sense it’s being written with that in mind.
Cho’s artwork is gritty and dark, which is perfect for this setting and era. He shows some more gore in this issue than most of the previous ones (one renegade gets his face bitten off), but it isn’t too much for the scene. The book is certainly a mature read, but definitely one that should be checked out by comic book fans with different tastes. The Old West setting mixes quite well with the zombie angle, so much so that once you get immersed in the book, you get disappointed when you pick up a book set in the “here and now.” Rating 3.5/5
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
