Review: Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy TP

The World of Black Hammer is, for me, the best comics universe around right now. Its consistency is unparalleled, which is largely due to creator Jeff Lemire writing almost every title. Even when he steps aside, the results have been excellent. There is perhaps one other explanation for the quality; the fact that every book is short and sweet. The main story consisted of around 25 issues, and pretty much everything else has been a miniseries. Lemire knows how to leave the audience wanting more. His latest mini, collected here, is Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy.

The Black Hammer universe is a joy for superhero fans. Almost every character is a pastiche of a Big Two hero, or a fusion of several. And as is so often the case in comics, parodies are able to go where the original characters could not. In this story, for example, Skulldigger is very clearly the Punisher. If his costume’s skull motif hadn’t made that clear, his extrajudicial killings certainly do. So who is Skeleton Boy? He’s the answer to the question that few writers would dare to ask. “What if the Punisher had a Robin?”

This is quite a dark story. There’s not really any other way to partner a murderous vigilante with a child sidekick. But that darkness is what draws you in. The third lead character is a Renee Montoya analogue; all three mains are compelling and well written. The narrative is initially very engaging, but appears to run out of steam later on. It does seem like the writing and momentum may have been hurt by COVID-19 delays that saw the 6 issues released over 14 months. Nevertheless, the deconstruction of the sidekick trope alone makes the book worth reading. Lemire in third gear is still better than a lot of what’s out there.

On the plus side, the drop in quality towards the end only applies to the writing. Tonci Zonjic’s art and colors remain excellent throughout. He’s a great fit for the ‘house style’ of Black Hammer, providing a great take on characters like Grimjim who have appeared in other titles. This is a fairly action-heavy series, and his layouts in such scenes are extremely enjoyable. His coloring work shows great variety and versatility across a range of settings.

Overall, whilst not the very finest that the World of Black Hammer has to offer, this is undoubtedly a good book. Fans of this universe should have no qualms about adding it to their collection.

Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 4.5 Stars
Colors – 4.5 Stars

Overall: 4 Stars

Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Tonci Zonjic
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Author Profile

Yavi Mohan

Yavi Mohan is a comic writer (and more frequently, comic reader) based in London. He is frequently overwhelmed by the number of comics in his reading list, to the extent that it sometimes delays his reading. This list includes every issue ever published with Spider-Man as the main character.