Advance Review: High Heaven #1
Ah, Heaven. Some people believe it’s the ultimate reward, its your hearts desire, its everything you could want. You just have to live your life by the principles of a book, written a long time ago, and I don’t mean the Star Wars adaptation!
Poor David Weathers. All his life he has waited for something more, he wanted something more. On the day that this life long complainer finally takes a step out of his comfort zone, setup by his friend, he is left broken hearted and things get worse thanks to a musical accident. Now, he faces a Heaven in which he does nothing but complain. Maybe he is happy in his misery. What follows is the mother of all adjustment periods.
Tom Peyer is a creator, editor and writer who, it is safe to say, has more than a few books under his belt. Here he is taking a look at the idea that as a species, we are happy when we are complaining. I guess that explains a huge chunk of Twitter then! Peyer plays with the sensibilities of Heaven as a paragon of virtue coupled with how our actions can shape our world. Do our perceptions actually create our own realities? David’s issues from his life carry over into his afterlife, which is more fun for the reader than it is for poor David. Even his own dead parents decided to leave Heaven rather than spend an eternity with their son.
Greg Scott provides the art that aims to be a grim realisation of a life gone a tad sour. In doing so, Scott actually seems to show the world through David’s eyes. Where some people would see a workplace, David’s view of cubicles is reminiscent of any number of offices or call centres, which to some is a variant of hell. Scott excels at the emotional aspects of David’s plight, with the whole range, with the exception of happiness, on show. It is a well drawn book, by an artist that has Peyer’s vibe down perfectly. Andy Troy adds a color scheme that is definitely a representation of the world as seen by David.
Peyer also scribes the second story, Hashtag Danger, which seems to be more in touch with today’s cartoon shows than I initially thought. There is a zany humour to proceedings which is a bit of a breath of fresh air after the heaviness of the first story. The art, by Chris Giarrusso does its job well. There is no need to worry about pesky things like perspective or even making sense. Rounding of the book is a text piece by Grant Morrison.
With David’s plight, it certainly seems true that misery loves company, or at least a company of readers love his misery, in this entertaining book.
High Heaven is in shops on 26th September.
Writing – 4 Stars
Art- 4.5 Stars
Colors – 4.5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Tom Peyer & Grant Morrison
Art by; Greg Scott, Shannon Wheeler, Chris Giarusso and Rick Geary
Colors by; Andy Troy
Published by; Ahoy Comics
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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