By Davey Nieves

Holy F*ck #1

 

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Story: Nick Narino

Art: Daniel Arruda Massa

Publisher : Action Labs Entertainment

 

 

Action Lab Entertainment might not be a familiar name to you but they’ve got great books like Molly Danger and Nutmeg under their belt. The studio continues to further sharpen already edgy ideas with their newest book Holy F*ck.

After twice reading the opening issue, I’m still trying to wrap my head around what I just read. So the premise of Holy F*ck is this: From the shadows Zeus, Isis, and the rest of earth’s deities have come together to concoct a nefarious plan to unleash an Armageddon level of war on humanity. Our only hope of avoiding this cataclysm is Catholicism in the form of a nun named Maria, a basement D&D nerd Lucifer, and sex crazed Rambo-like Jesus.

Written by Nick Narino, the opening issue introduces us to most of the major players involved and sets up the stakes very punctually. By the middle of the first issue we know how Maria & Jesus come together, and how Zeus’s cabal intend to unleash their plan. We also see that the villainous gods are motivated by a need to be seen and worshiped much like the advertising mascots in that Halloween Simpson’s episode. For a book that exists to poke fun of religion in all its forms it’s an entertaining read. However, Holy F*ck is like a cup of tea; it’s just not for everybody. In fact anyone who holds their spirituality close to the chest will most likely be offended by all the ways the book plays with religious figures. Though the book suffers more from a lack of snap in the dialogue than any offense that could be taken by people. Granted the dialogue in a story like this is meant to be cheesy but here it unbalances the characters a bit.

Daniel Arruda Massa’s art feels right for the levity intended within the pages. The illustration feels at home in its Scott Pilgrim vibe, which makes the cover art a little deceiving. The cartoony nature of the interiors doesn’t always go well with intense action but a more realistic art style would have probably put this in another genre of comic while making some of the jokes less digestible. Visually, it just feels right.

When I first read Garth Ennis classic Preacher, I felt like I had done something wrong. While today I’m not religious in any sense of the word, I did grow up in the bonds of church going Catholicism. So reading a book like that made a tiny part of me feel I’d be struck down or unclean. Later I’d come to realize that it’s part of the magic of Preacher and remains one of my favorite stories ever. Holy F*ck had a similar effect on me just not nearly as intense because it’s a neat idea that’s not quite fleshed out.


Don’t throw holy water at Dave on twitter. @bouncingsoul217

 

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