Sponge #2

Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2003
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Sponge #2 Creator(s): Chris Askham
Publishers: Self Published
From: UK
Price: 90 p (UK)

A crazy scientist and his attractive assistant are carrying out some rather gruesome experiments on the inmates of the asylum, a high security home for the not quite normal. Meanwhile, some members of a paramilitary quasi governmental organization arranges to send a team to deal with Synod, a rogue priest who has taken to killing people as a means of assisting them with their spiritual development.

Armed with a devilish sense of humour Chris has produced a fun adventure story which a mix of silly gags, shocking violence and dramatic exposition. There's no link that I can see between the two plot lines, so it will be interesting to see where things will end up. The use of religious themes in the plot gives the book a quirky quality that I found intriguing. One of the team boasts about his experiences in the crusades but many of his comrades don't know anything of religion. The contrast is funny but it also made me wonder about the setting of the story. Just what had gone on in the past?

Chris' artwork adds to the blended feel of the book, with a style that I, as well as some of the readers of issue 1, think looks a bit like Frank Miller work. This similarity is magnified with the subject matter, such as the scene where Synod is wearing a military helmet with three stars on it, holding a gun to a man's head while spouting authoritarian sentiments.

This is a genre comic that won't let us know which genre it belongs to. Is it Sci-Fi, horror, superhero, action? It could be all or none of these. Whatever it ends up being, this issue suggests it won't be boring.

In a Word: Virtuous.



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