Curse Words is not the first comic I’ve read this year where the “real world”“ meets a world of fantasy and magic. It is the first one however where the Earth is the target of a planned invasion by said magical world. Pretty darn cool premise, I’ll admit I love this sort of mash up and and Soule dropped me into the story with no preamble unfortunately but I did find the story interesting and entertaining enough that I was involved in the story until I could get to the needed exposition. This is a surprisingly good issue to jump into from. Even without ever having read this series before I got major character introductions, I learned about all the factions involved and the motivations for individuals and sides of the conflict.
The characters are solid with well defined motivations for their actions and personalities. They are both flawed and relatable while showing both ingenuity and courage. The pace of the story is just right as I never lost interest as I learned about this story and Soule’s dialogue is engaging, realistic and snappy in a way that is missing in several comics being authored at Marvel and DC these days. The world is also well fleshed out adding to the ease of this particular issue being a jumping on point. I found some similarities to ideas akin to those found in Mortal Kombat or DC’s the 4thWorld where mighty Darkseid and his lieutenants attempt to conquer Earth. The cast of characters are colorful in a similar way. I don’t know of it was intentional but certainly works.
ART
The art and colors are rich and vibrant. Browne’s art style isn’t the most polished looking, apparently preferring a rougher sort of line-work than I typically see in most comics but its suits the war torn Hole World that the story is set in. In particular he excels at defining the setting, easily establishing a scene with background elements and scenery. The colors certainly make the images pop and the art is never muddle or difficult to follow adding to the panel flow and clarity.
FINAL THOUGHTS
With everything you need to get right into this story I don’t think you will be disappointed if by picking up this series with this issue. 5 out of 5!
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
CURSE WORDS #23
Writer: Charles Soule
Art:Â Ryan Browne
Colors:Â Addison Duke
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