"Kiss Me, Satan! #1"  Comic Review

Written by James Ferguson

 

Published by Dark Horse Comics

 

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Written by Victor Gischler
Illustrated by Juan Ferreyra
$3.99, 24 Pages
Comic released on September 18th, 2013

Review:


Barnabus Black has had better days.  After narrowly escaping a group of vampires, he gets a new job from his pipsqueak cherub boss, Jules.  The path back into heaven looks like it's a long one.  Meanwhile, across town, Cassian Steele is awaiting the results of the most unique ultrasound I've ever seen.  The head of the local pack of werewolves has an old witch looking at his pregnant wife's stomach with the Eye of Fates to make sure the fetus will grow big and strong.  What kind of future will the child have?  Only the Eye knows.  All of this mixed together is the first issue of Kiss Me, Satan! from Victor Gischler and Juan Ferreyra.  

There are quite a few religious and supernatural elements thrown into Kiss Me, Satan!.  At first it looks like writer Victor Gischler threw a bunch of things into a pot to see what would come out.  A few of the elements are tied together by the end of the issue, but I'm still not sure of the route that the story is taking to get there.  In these 24 pages alone there are angels, witches, werewolves, and vampires.  I can't imagine what else the series will have in store.

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Kiss Me, Satan! looks like it will be a story of redemption for Barnabus Black.  He reminds me of an American Jason Statham.  He's a total badass but has a sense of honor.  Gischler manages to sum up his entire backstory in just three sentences of dialogue.  I'm not revealing it here, but I will say that it's a very unique setup and one that I can't wait to see play out in full.  It provides a lot of possibilities for Barnabus.  

On the other end of the spectrum is Cassian Steele.  He's your basic villain werewolf.  The leader of the pack who will stop at nothing to remain in power.  He's a little slow on the uptick, though, and that's going to cost him.  His story is serving as the maguffin for the overall arc, but there's not much there.  I don't care if he succeeds or fails, but in a way, his actions will directly affect Barnabus' future.  

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I was on board with Kiss Me, Satan! after I learned that Juan Ferreyra was drawing it.  I fell in love with Ferreyra's art earlier this year on Colder and I've been looking forward to checking out more of his work.  While Colder provides a look at insanity from the perspective of a lunatic, this title is a bit more straightforward in appearance.  That being said, there's a lot of variety in the types of creatures that pop up.  Ferreyra provides some personality in each character that he draws.  You can gather a lot about each person based on their look and stance.  Cassian Steele never smiles.  Barnabus Black has the weight of the world on his shoulders.  Jules is a cocky little gangster of an angel.  

Ferreyra also has a talent for action scenes.  The opening chase is enough to get you hooked on this comic.  Unlike a movie where there would be a million little cuts, making it hard to figure out what's going on, the artist opens it up, giving you a clear view of the events as they unfold.  The vampires break out their guns in a panel taking up two thirds of the page and the next page has Barnabus firing away as he tries to make a break for it.  


Kiss Me, Satan! has a lot going on in just the first issue.  This is a mini-series with five chapters and by the end of this one, the setup is complete.  It's clear as to what will happen next, but who or what will be thrown into the mix before these next steps are taken is anyone's guess.  With Ferreyra on art, though, I'm willing to follow wherever it goes.


Grades:

Story: Cover
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Art:
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James Ferguson
Lord of the Funny Books
James has a 2nd grade reading level and, as a result, only reads books with pictures. Horror is his 5th favorite genre right after romantic comedy and just before silent films. No one knows why he's here, but he won't leave.
Other articles by this writer

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