Comic Review: The Goddammed: The Virgin Brides #3

The Goddammed: The Virgin Brides #3

Image Comics

Writer: Jason Aaron

Artists: R.M. Guera & Giulia Brusco

The story of two young girls escaping a violent nunnery continues in this new issue of “The Virgin Brides.”

Last issue, Sharri and Jael, our two main characters made their escape and killed a hunter sent after them. It was a violent, yet emotional moment in the series. Sharri tried to stop Jael from committing the murder, perhaps out of some remaining loyalty to the nunnery. Jael on the other hand let out all her anger at the nunnery and the idea of God himself. Now, we get to see the aftermath of this brutal event.

The issue starts off with a melancholy moment as both girls react to the killing. Once we progress past this point we start to learn more about the characters. A snake, presumably an agent of the devil based on his dialogue tries to tempt Jael to join his side. The girls manage to seemingly outwit the creature though in order to cross a river. Unfortunately, Sharri is bitten by a snake and Jael tries to look after her. We see some real character development from Jael throughout this issue and that and the snake were really the highlights. The snake himself was an entertaining and interesting character. I’m most interested in seeing what happens to Jael in future issues though. Sometimes Aaron relies too much on swearing with the character but she’s been the star of this series. A very well-written entry in a great series.

The art is breathtaking. The mix of bright and dark environments keeps the story visually interesting. The use of shadows on faces to convey emotion is brilliant. The level of detail on the snake and other villains in this story is another high point. Some artists tend to draw the same handful of faces and body types over and over again. That isn’t the case here. Every character, even minor ones looks unique. My only complaint is that there’s a moment in the story where Jael tricks the snake into fighting mountain lions. They’re helping the nuns hunt her and Sharri and it’s quite a cunning move. We never get to see what the snake does though which is disappointing. The action is also starting to get increasingly unrealistic as well. I’m hoping that doesn’t continue since I enjoyed the realism of this biblical horror.

Lettering is a strong point of the issue. I especially loved the different font used for the dialogue of the snake. There’s another font used for things like screams and a character choking. These touches just make the moments and characters so much more memorable. Other than this it’s mostly the same compliments as previous issues. There’s a colourful and varied use of sound effects that helps bring the action in these pages to life. Other than that it’s the usual bold lettering to highlight specific words and phrases throughout the story. Nothing I’d consider ground-breaking but some solid lettering nonetheless.

Overall, this was a great issue. I enjoyed it and the ending is spectacular. You get some decent moments of action and a lot of insight into our two lead characters. The art looks amazing as usual and I‘ve been left with no clue how this story will continue. That’s rare for me. Usually, I can sense how a story will go but I’m stumped. I’ve got to compliment Aaron on that. It’s been a long time since a writer managed to have that effect on me. This issue might be hard to follow if you’re new to the series. I wouldn’t recommend it to a new reader, you’d be better starting from the beginning.  If, however, you’ve followed this series and enjoyed it so far then you’ll enjoy this issue. It’s an incredible read that I can’t recommend enough.

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