Kiss me, Satan! #1

by lucstclair on September 17, 2013

Meet Barnabus Black, a man living in the city of New Orleans surrounded by a criminal underworld ran by werewolves. Barnabus is under contract by holy beings going all the way up to the big man in the sky and when he’s assigned to protect some witches from the clutches of the most powerful family of lycanthropes, those silver bullets will do more then look pretty & shinny.
 

The Team

Written by Victor Gischler (X-Men : The Curse is Broken) and illustrated by Juan Ferreyra (Colder). Published by Dark Horse.
 

The Pros & Cons

Although vampires are briefly mentioned in this mythical creature version of New Orleans, I’m happy to report that it’s not about the blood suckers. But it’s about everyone else, werewolves, witches, angels, demons, Satan and God. To quote George Takei “Oh Myyy!”. This was a fast paced, balls to the walls, action packed comic that delivers cool scenarios and mucho blood & gore. It’s about werewolves, so it damn well better have the splatter effect.
 
We’re quickly introduced to the protagonist named Barnabus Black, a bald headed guy armed with silver bullets who knows athing or two about werewolves and is hunted by demons, which at this point is unclear why they want Barnabus dead. The story is also about the head of the lycanthrope crime family called Cassian Steele, who’s unborn son will one day take over his feral empire for his old man, but Verona, the all seeing Oracle, sees a future for Cassian’s son that will change the clan forever.
 
The settings seem very familiar, a feeling of the Underworld movies, Dylan Dog and a little bit of another Dark Horse title called Criminal Macabre. This melting pot of a comic isn’t completely original, that much is true, but the artwork drastically increases my enjoyment of this first issue. Juan Ferreyra’s illustrations high octane images takes us on a wild ride of foot chases, violent gun play and fantastical creatures jumping from rooftop to rooftop. There’s an amazing one page shot of Barnabus being shot at by demons that’s a stunning bullet time work of art. Fans of Ferreyra will remember his incredible work on last year’s Colder mini series. Click here for the reviews of #1, #2 & #5. His work on this comic looks terrific, but his work on Colder really shines. He goes to places with the art and the panels in ways I’d never seen before.
 

The Outcome

As an ongoing series and its lack of originality, I don’t think I would’ve invested in this series, but as a 5 part mini, there’s some potential and I think there’s something here for both horror and crime drama fans.
 
 

Our Score:

7/10

A Look Inside