REVIEW: God Complex #6

Dogma is generally defined as the rhetoric associated with a set of principles transmitted by an authority as absolute fact. In Image Comics“ God Complex: Dogma, issue #6, the dogma of the reality to which Seneca ”“ the series protagonist ”“ has been subscribing begins to fall apart. Or more accurately, the voice in Seneca“s mind begins to deconstruct the dogma of his reality. It is an interesting and visually unnerving fact of the story that Seneca hears a voice in his head, other than his own. This voice may or may not be of his psyche, but that might be a debate best left to the readers.

Comic books have most likely always had producers and designers ”“even apart from the writers, artists, and colorists. God Complex is created and designed by Brian Lie, and written by Paul Jenkins. Hendry Prasetya is the artists, Sunny Gho is the colorist and Jaka Aduy is the letterer. Comolo handles the graphics. Name-checking the whole team is important here because each of these elements cohere in this issue in ways that distinguish the individual efforts. The overall design of God Complex is dark, divine and dystopic. The writing is sparse and internally focused (in this issue). The art is compelling. In some ways it visually harkens back to the classic Jim Lee material produced in the early days of Image. And Comolo“s graphics provide the visual cues necessary to fully appreciate the sci-fi futurism mixed with a bit of ancient western divine chaos. It really does all work together in form in ways that can“t be captured exclusively by the printed word.

One of the recurring themes that presents itself in God Complex is the synthesis of being and the challenges that existential synthesis produces. For these characters, synthesis can be psychological, technological, spiritual, or maybe in the case of the Trinity ”“ all of the above. But synthesis is never an easy arrangement. Seneca“s technological augmentations might be the death of him ”“ or they will at the very least cause him great pain. The Rulers in “control”“ can“t really agree on the best way to control Seneca. And the voice inside Seneca“s head . . . well that voice might be more like a chorus. This is heady stuff for the comic book genre and that“s ok. God Complex wrestles with a world caught up in the powerful forces of technology and divinity. Whether or not, or how, Seneca will navigate those forces is a story readers will want to stick around to see through to its end. 3.5/5.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer:Â Paul Jenkins & Bryan Lie
Artist / Cover:Â Hendry Prasetya