Written By: Cullen Bunn
Art By: Brian Hurtt
Published By: Oni Press
Time is a flat circle, and The Damned is back on store shelves. It’s almost as if comic books are on an actual release schedule or something. Spooky, huh?
The Damned #4 brings us some nice character development, with Eddie and Pauly Bones having some actual, honest-to-demon conversation with each other. They make for a nice dichotomy of people, with Pauly being an optimist and Eddie being a bitter pessimist. I’m guessing dealing with demons your entire life will have that effect on you.
Honestly, the crux of the issue really is these two just spending time with each other. Yeah they’re being chased by demon mobsters, but it’s less about that and more about making more deals with more demons. There are two kinds, as it turns out, and the second kind are not to be messed with. The stakes have raised again.
We’re at a point where character work does this comic a lot of good. Up until now, it’s been a heavy world-building affair—which is good because this world is cool—but it’s nice to get more reason to care about the people in it. I really like Pauly now that I know some more about him. I like Eddie a bit more too, even if his backstory isn’t all that interesting.
I suppose I like our new demons, though I expect they’ll be pretty demon by the time this affair is over. Or Eddie is rubbin’ off on me.
On the art front, Brian Hurtt continues to bring it. There’s a great flashback scene where everything gets washed out and distorted save the main demon, and it adds a lot to the atmosphere. It turns a mediocre backstory into something pretty spooky and sad.
I feel like when it comes to this comic, I don’t have all that much to say. It’s a fun story with a fun world. It’s a nice bit of optimism crossed with cynicism. It does things right. Good enough, as this guy I knew who ran a library would say.
