Xombi #2

Look at that cover and tell me that ain't eight types of kickasstastic awesomeness! None the Less packing some heavy, heavenly artillery. And David's disembodied, floating head appearing ever so slightly in the background really is a nice touch. Reminds me of a scene from Bram Stoker's Dracula. 

Since I'm on the topic of art I gotta say I've been a huge fan of Frazer Irving's art ever since I first encountered on Batman and Robin 13. I know he's not for everybody or every situation but the world that John Rozum's provided him with is the perfect playground for his area of expertise. After seeing his work alongside Rozum's story, I can confidently say that there was no other artist that could deliver what this title needed. Nobody's done crazy, creepy, dark, and off kilter this well since Dave McKean on Arkham Asylum. I only had one complaint about Irving's art last issue and that was David's hair. It lacked texture and that made it look prosthetic, almost like a helmet. That's been swiftly addressed, so smooth sailing this issue. Irving does a stellar job illustrating these characters. Just from their body language you can gather a good bit about their personalities and relationships with one another. every character has a unique look tailor made for them. No recycling models here. Even Nun The Less and None of the Above are easy to distinguish between (even without using their height difference) despite their identical garb. Some criticize Frazer for having exaggerated or awkward facial expressions on his models, but in this stories setting this turns out to be an asset, and compliments the writing flawlessly. 

But enough about the art let's get to the story. We find our hero, David Kim, at the mercy of a snow angel as a host of unholy hell spawns swarms down upon he and his allies. The only way to save David is to have Catholic Girl destroy the snow angel, along with his arm. But it's cool, because you know, he's "The Xombi" it'll grow back, but it still will hurt like all hell. But I suppose that's a better alternative to a deranged phantom turning your flesh inside out, no? Of course there's no time for David to engage in such debate as the kill or treaters are in no mood for intellectual discourse or sophistry. The ensuing battle is very well written with a great balance of absurdist comedy and genuine dread. There's a lot of great banter between all the characters, especially between Nun the Less and Nun of the Above. However there are enough "oh no!" moments to keep us on the edge of our seats. And that cover is not a feint, Nun the Less whips out her twin pistols, loads up on saint shells and commences to lay waste to everything in her sights. The battle scene is brief, but extremely satisfying due to the cohesion of Rozum's dialog and Irving's art. 

Midway through the battle David has to leave the others to pursue James Church and the mysterious individual or individuals whom are responsible for his escape. He takes the rustling husk along with him to aid him in his task. This paves the way for interesting narration which sheds some light on David's past. This was a nice way to provide unobtrusive exposition to new readers like myself  and is sure to be a nice easter egg for long time readers and fans of the original Milestone series. The rustling husk's mechanistic nature make for some great darkly humorous moments. The whole sneaking up on the bad guys plan doesn't go so well (does it ever?) and we get to see the rustling husk kick some ass with ruthless efficiency. Suddenly David's freak out reaction to it's mere presence in issue one makes perfect sense.   

We get some info on why it was so imperative to prevent the escape of Mr. Church provided by Julian and Rabbi Sinnowitz. Turns out Church may be the key to releasing an ancient being of extreme destructive force that Julian, Rabbi Sinnowitz, Mark Merlin, & Sargon the Sorcerer managed to capture and seal 30 years ago. During these scenes there's some great dialog and interaction between Julian and Rabbi Sinnowitz.. Towards the end of the issue we're introduced to who's behind Church's escape, which ends the issue on a very interesting note. Turns out Church's Hyde form is his good side...

  

This is a personal nitpicky thing, so I can't even allow it have any bearing on my score, but I hate character introduction boxes that give you a break down of their identity or abilities. 

This is the kind of title I'm glad to see DC taking a risk on. Straight out of the gate this felt like a title totally tailored for their Vertigo Imprint. Of all the Milestone properties I was clamoring for a Static or Icon relaunch, but I've gotta say that DC made the right call by resurrecting this cult hit. In two issues this comic has proven to be one of the most unique, quirky, humorous and just plane fun titles on the market today on any company, in any genre. John Rozum's created a series which brand new readers can jump right into and feel at home. I hadn't even heard of Xombi until I read the solicits for this book a few months ago and I was able to enjoy this story to the fullest extent. While he makes this book accessible to newbs like my self, he doesn't do so with tedious flashbacks and exposition. Instead what we learn about David and his cohorts is provided through naturalistic, organic dialog and pure observation. This spares longtime fans needless recaps and ensures that more time is dedicated to furthering the narrative in the present. David Kim's an immediately likable, (albeit immortal) everyman type of character we can all relate too. He's just a guy who's life was turned inside out and now finds himself involved in this shadow world most of us can't fathom. And he reacts to this just as he should, but even more than this his go with the flow attitude to a lot of this stuff is really endearing. And how can you not like his supporting cast of a spunky Catholic school girl who derives her superhuman powers from her faith, a psychic nun with a foul mouth and even fouler temper, and another gun wielding nun who has bar none the most strange origin story of all time? Do yourself a favor and check out this title ASAP! Rozum and Irving have really created something special with this one and you'll kick yourself for missing out on it. Do you really want to be "that guy" at your local shop when all the cool kids are discussing this title? No, I didn't think so ^_^