A sneak peak at Scourge
100 Words Or Less
John Griffin has his hands full when a pandemic hits New York and he's the one that has to stop it. The monsters are out to kill and Griffin must do everything he can to stay alive and get to his son. But is saving his son enough if the entire world becomes infected? So Then I Said...
End of the world, global pandemic, viruses, blah, blah, blah. I like that stuff, it interests me. The Scourge is a story about a virus that causes people to turn into gargoyles. Friggin' gargoyles, people. Not zombies, not vampires, not the undead, but gargoyles. Novel twist so of course I was intrigued. #0 issues are meant to introduce readers to a story in a fast and furious way. Scott Lobdell has done that with this issue. Personally, however, I don't think this preview warranted its own stand-alone issue. The story was only 12 pages long, plus it included a one-page letter from the writer, and a two-page character bio of the major players that the reader will come across in The Scourge. All of this in a $2.50 package. Aspen MLT could have thrown this 12-page preview at the back of an existing ongoing, quite frankly. Sure, the story was interesting enough and I will go buy #1, but I didn't feel I got everything I should have gotten out of something I paid $2.50 for. If it was $1, then that would have been alright. Having said that, let's talk about the issue itself.
Lobdell gives us a sneak peak into this six-issue mini-series and it's good. The reader is introduced to the protagonist and gets a clue about what's happening. There's also plenty of action in this issue; Lobdell will need to keep the action high-paced, though, since he's set the bar with issue #0. I also feel a mini-series is the best format for this series. Six issues keeps it nice and tight and doesn't drag out what would be the equivalent of a 90-minute action movie. Eric Battle has done a good job with the cover however the interior art could have been a little better. I would have liked it if it was a little cleaner, used a better perspective, and didn't overuse close-up shots. Besides that, the art was fine.