Written by: Montynero
Art by: Mike Dowling
Publisher: Titan Comics
Millions of people around the world have fantasized over and over again, the awesome-ness that would come if you or I somehow acquired super powers. The interesting thing though, is not all really take the time to figure out how much their reality would be turned upside down. You now have the chance to take justice into your own hands, or cause as much mayhem as you desire. Death Sentence Vol 1 shows us the reality of super powers not just falling into the wrong hands, but hands that have had a daily struggle with their life in general.
On the back of this eye popping book cover, it reads “Sex, Superpowers, and Six months to live!”. That is the proposed story line, and Montynero delivers with that. The readers find out almost right away that with following three main characters, all having seemingly different backgrounds and life achievements, they all have attained their powers through the same thing. Sex. The G-plus virus, is a sexually transmitted disease with no known cure, and shortens its victims life to about six months.
Our main characters, truly make this volume a great read. Weasel, is a has-been musician, that has troubled himself with drugs and alcohol. While we have Monty who is specified as a rogue media icon, and frankly reminds me of actor/comedian Russell Brand. Verity is our only female lead in this story, who seems to be any other struggling artist with obvious issues, but holds her own with living. These three have been infected, and choose very interesting paths with their remaining days on earth.
Montynero takes us through each character, back and forth, which at first was confusing, until you realized who was who. He lets us see the struggle this virus puts on the infected, as well as those surrounded by the infected themselves. Different powers are gained for each character, and there are different levels of the virus that can show how much power actually does exist in each person. With that said, of course there is some secret Government operation in charge of helping, and or taking down any threat.
This is where the absolute crazy begins. One of our characters completely looses his or her mind with the strength of their power. Montynero has wonderful creativity when throwing in your face the actual destruction and horrible things someone is capable of, just to obtain more power. Of course, one way or another our other two infected characters, interestingly get thrown together to assist with taking down the Evil that has surrounded Europe and America.
I will not give the intimate details away on this read, because it is worth the pick up. It has story detail that surprised me, things I could understand, things I even saw coming. However, the twists and turns that Montynero deliver are very good. He puts you in the minds of his characters, and makes you see why he or she would be acting or doing the things that they are doing. Some parts are a little creepy, bloody, awesome, and even gross. That would also be because of Dowling. I do wish Dowling added more detail to certain scenes, but understand the fact that sometimes, he simply didn’t have to. The words and ideal of what was happening was obvious, to where you didn’t need to overpower a head explosion, you got the jist of it right away. When it came down to it, Dowling did a terrific job of creating a seemingly dirty and confused world with his art. The world that I exactly pictured with this situation happening to us.
Remember folks, super powers aren’t always what they seem. Make sure you are the right person for the job, if ever you get the chance.
