Starve the Beast
Art Style: Some people who give this comic a glance just won’t get it – the style will be too moody for them. But everyone else will be blown away. This comic has a decisive look that forces you to notice it and feels deliberately uncomfortable. For a moment I wasn’t just browsing another Tapastic comic, I was there in a city at the edge of cataclysm. I quickly got a sense of dark fantasy/sci-fi and horror, nothing about this comic should make you feel cheerful.
My one gripe is the distinct style of faces. On one hand there is a special inhumanity to the faces, a mix of Guy Fawkes mask and demonic. It’s unique and it works with the comic. But at the same time it leaves me slightly distanced from the characters. I think I felt something similar when reading Sin City as the characters’ faces were often obscured by darkness.
Story: This comic presents us with the fallout after a dictator’s death, and the question of succession. It’s a story of backstabbing (literally) and how power brings out the worst in people. As a politics undergrad myself, this felt fittingly mature and sophisticated. We didn’t get to see the dictator for long enough to truly establish his impact, but the events following his death gradually ramp up to show the extent to which his regime operates. And as the protagonist, his potential successor, begins to question the events that transpired the story begins to elicit a welcome feeling of suspense. With the close of the first issue I was left wondering what’s next – we have a protagonist we don’t know much about yet, a country on the edge of chaos, and lots of questions as to the motives behind the death. Overall, if you’re willing to read and think, I think it’s a story that will be satisfying as secrets are revealed.
Dialogue: Like many dark, noir comics the narration of the protagonist is artistically grim. I especially enjoyed his description of the dictator’s face in death. For the first issue at least, the actual speaking dialogue is interspersed here and there, giving us a firsthand take through what’s occurring in the city. We’re kept centered in the narrator’s thoughts, but also informed through the wider lenses of the media and various observers. This fluid shift in perspectives was very well done, and felt cinematic. It leaves you anticipating meaningful and climatic conversations between characters and more smooth phrases from the narrator.
Conclusion: I read through this one quickly last night, and once more this evening. It was profoundly more engaging with a focused mind, and I even found myself stopping to appreciate particular pieces of dialogue. It’s a comic that will take some investment of attention and dedication from the reader, but will be well worth their time. I could imagine it sporting an attractive trailer to get people past their initial reservations of committing to a detailed, heavily stylized comic.