Kickstarter Alert: Decay #1

Ok, let’s get the title of the review sorted first; Decay #1: A Supernatural Thriller was an extremely successful Kickstarter from last year. Issue 2 is due to hit Kickstarter May 3rd, so what better time to look back at the first issue and get up to date.

DK is a man on the up. He has a best friend in the shape of Marcus who has a bit of start-up gig creating drinks and along with DK they attend a party night. Of course, where there is a party there are gangs and where there are gangs, there are gun., and where there are guns, there is death! What would you do, what would you give to bring back a loved one?

Creator and writer Anthony Stokes set his stall in New Orleans where the spirits of Bayou dwell. Stokes uses this magical, spiritual area to seed his tale os woe. Being in New Orlean voodoo makes an appearance with DK’s girlfriend. How DK, his girlfriend and voodoo are all entwined is inspired by the likes of Menace 2 Society, The Crow and Frankenstein to name a few. The first issue sets out the fall of Marcus and hints at length and breadths that DK will take in order to punish those who he feels are responsible. Stokes writing has a decent pace about it; it is difficult to get all the pieces in the right place. If the punchline is to work, then the set-up needs to be spot on; in this Stokes takes the time to set-up his world.

Marc Oliver supplies the art for the book. Oliver uses a range of techniques in which to tell the story; some are more successful than others. On show there is the now ubiquitous nine panel page along with a mix of other styles. Smaller panels are used to move characters around and to show pace. This could have been achieved with different camera angles which would also ease the use of characters stood stock still. Oliver does add a level of emotion to proceedings, which helps the overall idea of the book. With that in mind, Oliver’ s action scenes are well realised adding to the overall pace and seriousness to the book. The colors of the book do lack a certain level of texture, this is a common curse of many a small press book and possibly the hardest to achieve. Letters are provided by Joni Hågg who ensures that the dialogue is placed as not to disrupt the art.

I see a lot of small press books and Kickstarter, here at Comic Crusaders as well as on the Flipside Focus podcast and of course Outside the Panels. Stokes, Oliver and Hågg have the opportunity to build on their previous success. I am looking forward to seeing how issue two plays out.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars

Overall – 3.5 Stars

Created & Written by; Anthony Stokes
Art by; Marc Oliver
Letters by; Joni Hågg

Kickstarter link; https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/decay/decay-issue-1-a-supernatural-thriller

For more information click here.

Don’t forget the keep an eye on Kickstarter for the the second issue of Decay, due to start on May 3rd this year!

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

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