Billy: Demon Slayer #4

Posted: Tuesday, June 24, 2003
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Billy: Demon Slayer #4

Creator: Hayden Fryer
Publisher: Siberian Productions (Self Published)
Address: Australia
Price: $2:50 (AU)

In which the four riders of the apocalypse try to con their way into heaven, and Billy hangs out in a nightclub playing pool.

Things are set at a slower pace in this issue: no fight scenes, just exposition and comedy. Hayden is set to conclude the story next issue, and he seems to have been inspired to give the book more sense of a plot. It's a good move, making for an issue that stands out and rewards readers who might have been starting to find previous issues a bit repetitive. The way the story is shaping up some serious confrontations awaits the reader in issue 5.

Hayden also experiments with the artwork, having some fun with computer shading. It does the job, but large areas of dark grey look flat. Cross hatching or other such texturing might have been more rewarding. He might also want to pay a bit more attention to character placement, as a couple of times the flow of dialogue defies convention and goes right to left which severely interrupted things.

The low-key humour in this book works well, as does the change of pace from earlier issues. Stay tuned to find out how it all ends up.

In a word: Sharp



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