“Children of the Damned
Revenger is about a woman who doesn’t take any sh*t. She roams a crumbling United States in the 1980s helping the beaten and exploited even their odds. The first issue kicks off with a call for help from a teenage boy who is concerned about his missing girlfriend.”
Scrolling through Comixology’s “New Indie Releases,” I stumbled upon a book titled “Revenger #1” by Charles Sanford Forsman, published by Oily Comics. Now this is a title that’s rated 17+, so this is a book that’s not intended for children to read, and that’s for a good reason. The summary and three page preview looked interesting, so I decided to give this book a chance, and after reading it I felt compelled to type a review and share my thoughts with other comic book readers.
Looking at the cover, we see a woman crashing through some glass from the left side of the book, firing a gun, and this is when we know this is going to be bloody (good). From the first page, the title character, Revenger, tells us the tragedy that happened to her, and right away we see her taking care of business. You can see the anger and rage through her eyes. You don’t want to get on her bad side. She then heads to a phone booth and listens to her voice messages, and she receives one from a kid named Edward. He tells her his story and asks her for help…that is, if she really exists, how does he know if she’s not just a myth?
After a shattered memory flashback, Revenger heads over to the kid’s house, but passing through his town, she realizes that this is a bad place to be. After talking to the kid, she seeks out information, and prepares to take care of business. Just as the action escalates, and Revenger sees the corruption going on, we see those infamous words…”To Be Continued.”
I didn’t want the story to end because it was getting so good, but this is great because I’ll purchase the following issue to find out what happens next. Here’s one of those independent titles that I like to call a “hidden gem,” because not too many readers will know about this book, and it’s one of those books that people should be reading. Fans of Quentin Tarantino films, ergo the “Kill Bill” films, will enjoy this book for the violent content, and the back story of Revenger. What I like about this book is that from the first page, you know why Revenger is seeking out vengeance; it’s not a pointless story of a character who’s killing for no reason. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but we can almost feel Revenger’s pain, and seeing her take care of business is a spectacle to be seen. The art style fits this story well, some panels have no backgrounds, but it works, especially in the first four pages. It’s almost like it resembles dead silence. I rate this premiere issue a 4.5 out of 5 stars, definitely worth giving a try. Revenger #1 has 27 pages, retails for $1.99, is written, illustrated, and lettered by Charles Sanford Forsman. Published by Oily Comics, and the digital version is available on Comixology.
Copyright © 2017 Oily Comics
**Originally published on January 22, 2015 for Examiner.**
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