Comic Review: The Curse of Brimstone #4

The Curse of Brimstone #4

DC Comics

Writer: Justin Jordan

Art: Eduardo Pansica 

It’s hell, water, and fire duking it out in this week’s Brimstone, where Joe Chamberlin faces off against a new agent of the Salesman: a manifestation of Dark Water.

When DC announced the lineup for the “New Age of DC Heroes” I will admit I had one look at Brimstone and thought, “eh“. He looked like a dark, edgy “don’t steal OC” type I would have made when I wrote bad characters in my room at age 12 (No I wasn’t emo, just sad). I didn’t really give the title a chance and just ignored it.

I’d like to add that I’m a bit of an idiot for that.

First off I’d like to point out this really reminds me of a series from the late 90’s or early 2000’s. The setting, characters, and premise are all reminiscent of the kinds of books that got me into comics in the first place. Clearly, each of the ‘New Age Heroes’ is DC’s take on a number of Marvel characters (Sideways=Spider-Man, Terrifics=FF, Damage=Hulk) and Brimstone feels like a take on Ghost Rider. And it works. Instead of a punked out, motorcycle-riding flaming skeleton, Chamberlin transforms at will into this hulking mass of flames, power, and Brimstone. Rather than become an agent of evil for the mysterious Salesman like the many other agents before him, Brimstone decides to go against the contract and fight fire with fire (and whatever other elemental demonic power thrown at him).If you’re a fan of supernatural, demonic road trip shows then this is a title entirely down your alley. The series is going to be Brimstone taking down these agents that are planted all over these small, run-down, no-name towns. And it’s great. It feels like a bit of fresh air with a different tone and genre to read. My only complaints have been pacing; the series feels like it’s going very quickly and we don’t get too much to know about characters. We know Joe is poor and wants to get out of his town and his nice older sister is a nurse…..and that’s all. It’s not a massive complaint, I just hope Justin Jordan gives the characters room to breathe and lets them develop and flesh out a little. I was pretty surprised by how quickly Joe got the hang of his powers, especially when the first issue gave the vibe that he wasn’t going to be in control when he became his monstrous self. I also hope that because it’s going quickly that the series doesn’t burn out (hehe) and forget itself along the way. I was worried after reading the first issue that this would be a miniseries that accidentally became the main title. But it’s still early, so time will tell.

The dialogue is good and the introduction of new characters this issue allow us to find out a bit more surrounding the Salesman, Joe’s connection to the Dark Multiverse, and the events of Metal and what actually is going on. There was more dialogue and story structure this issue than cool-looking action scenes, and that’s fine. The action is also pretty good in this issue, the fight between Brimstone and Dark Water had some very cool moments and I really hope Brimstone starts learning more and utilizing his powers, similar to how Sideways has been in his series. With the plot and story pretty well-established in this issue, I look forward to the direction we’re going to be following this brother and sister team (and possibly others?)

Change of artists for this week’s issue: Eduardo Pansica fills in Philip Tan’s shoes and I fully welcome him to the book. I was a bit nervous that I wouldn’t like a change in art, especially since Tan embodied the dark and demonic vibe perfectly in his art, but Pancisa does a great job especially with Dark Water’s design and the fight scene at the end. Pansica helps make the series a page turner and enjoyable to the eye. The colors and lighting this issue is a bit brighter than Tan’s bonfire-lit vibe but it gets dramatic when it needs to.

Overall? Another welcome addition to the New Age of Heroes. As I said earlier, I was apprehensive of the series but it’s doing a fine job in keeping me interested. The only problem is pacing and character moments but it can hopefully be worked on. I’m looking forward to the highway to hell road trip the Chamberlin’s are on, and I can’t wait to see who we’ll encounter, new characters or old (honestly I’m banking on Constantine or the JLD to make an appearance). Until then, don’t make any deals with demons and stay away from Salesmen.