Small Gods, Big Promises
INITIAL THOUGHTS
I wasn't expecting much from Small Gods, but I thought I'd try this title from Image publishers. The art was in black-and-white, which seemed appropriate to me and I liked the way the characters were drawn, though the settings sometimes lacked their detail. The best piece of work I saw was a collection of visions the lead character has that have less shading and are clearly different from the rest. It was composed of two stories, and I think they both deserve their own review.
Killing Grin, Part 1
Pre-cogs, telepaths and other psychic abilities are a scientific fact and and about 1% of the people on earth have these powers. Pre-cogs can't legally use there powers to invade other peoples privacy, unless they are cops like the main character in our story.
Not only is the story intriguing, but it frequently references the judicial system and makes the topic a very realistic and plausible outcome for the future. The characters were not fully introduced, but it's only the first issue so I hope the rest of the issues will continue to develop the characters. This story is easily one of the best I've ever read, instantly earning a spot on my favorite series list even though I've only read the first issue.
The only problem I had with this issue (other than the second story) was that the ending of the first part makes no sense unless you read the glossary at the end comic, so if you are going to pick this issue up I'd suggest reading that first to get a better understanding of the setting right away.
Outside the Box, Part 1
I did not even grasp what this part was about. Some people get shot randomly and a drunk guy almost has sex with a girl who promises to wait up for him after work. That's it. It took up the last four pages of the comic that I would have loved to see more of the "Killing Grin" story. This just felt like a filler, and I hope it improves with more issues.
Overall
Art 4.5/5
Characters 2.5/5
(Story) Killing Grin, Part 1 5/5
(Story) Outside the Box, Part 1 1/5
OUTCOME
4/5
I wasn't expecting much from Small Gods, but I thought I'd try this title from Image publishers. The art was in black-and-white, which seemed appropriate to me and I liked the way the characters were drawn, though the settings sometimes lacked their detail. The best piece of work I saw was a collection of visions the lead character has that have less shading and are clearly different from the rest. It was composed of two stories, and I think they both deserve their own review.
Killing Grin, Part 1
Pre-cogs, telepaths and other psychic abilities are a scientific fact and and about 1% of the people on earth have these powers. Pre-cogs can't legally use there powers to invade other peoples privacy, unless they are cops like the main character in our story.
Not only is the story intriguing, but it frequently references the judicial system and makes the topic a very realistic and plausible outcome for the future. The characters were not fully introduced, but it's only the first issue so I hope the rest of the issues will continue to develop the characters. This story is easily one of the best I've ever read, instantly earning a spot on my favorite series list even though I've only read the first issue.
The only problem I had with this issue (other than the second story) was that the ending of the first part makes no sense unless you read the glossary at the end comic, so if you are going to pick this issue up I'd suggest reading that first to get a better understanding of the setting right away.
Outside the Box, Part 1
I did not even grasp what this part was about. Some people get shot randomly and a drunk guy almost has sex with a girl who promises to wait up for him after work. That's it. It took up the last four pages of the comic that I would have loved to see more of the "Killing Grin" story. This just felt like a filler, and I hope it improves with more issues.
Overall
Art 4.5/5
Characters 2.5/5
(Story) Killing Grin, Part 1 5/5
(Story) Outside the Box, Part 1 1/5
OUTCOME
4/5