Malo #1 & 2

Posted: Tuesday, March 11, 2003
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Malo #1 & 2 Writer(s): Dan Garcia
Artist(s): David Olivarez
Publishers: Self Published
From: USA
Price: $2.95 (US)

Built like a brick out-house, Malo is a guy that any sensible person wouldn't even think of messing with. Unfortunately for the people Malo Meets, most of them aren't that sensible. So when he goes back to his home town to help a cousin who has gone off the rails, things get physical in a big way.

David's black and white art is very competently executed. While the characters are overdeveloped in the muscle bound sort of way, the line work is boldly inked. Action is the name of the game, with lots of fight scenes and the occasional comic relief panel to break things up. The only fault you might find is that the amount of detail David puts into the panels means that the characters don't leap out from amongst the backgrounds.

On first look I wasn't looking forward to reading this. Muscle-bound guys hitting each other usually ain't that interesting. However, the humor that abounds in this mix of professional wresting, demonic carnage and ethnic Mexican culture makes for a fun read. Mindless violence maybe, but the supply of one liners keeps the action moving quite nicely.

Mostly what put me off was the appalling text introduction for issue one. It reads like a trailer trash manifesto of violence, sexism and swear words. A tag line like He is here to raise hell, hand out Chingazos, and satisfy the ladies doesn't really spin my wheels. It isn't quite as sexist as it pretends to be, but still there is little here to attract the more adult minded of you. One for the us lads really.

In a Word: Ma(d)chismo.



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