HASS #2
APPROBATION COMICS
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
WRITER/CREATOR: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ARTIST: Federico Santagati
COLORS: Alivon Ortiz
LETTERS: Krugos
MISC. ART: Cesar Grego
COVERS: Federico Santagati
32pp, Color, $9.99 U.S. (2019)
Hass is a racial drama and crime thriller comic book miniseries from Approbation Comics. Hass #1 was first published in 2013, and it went on to earn two 2014 Glyph Comics Award nominations (“Best Cover” and “Best Writer”).
Hass is the story of Joshua “Josh” Jones, a freshman attending a college “deep in the heart of Texas.” First day on campus, Josh falls in love with fellow student, Maggie Stewart, but he has to work hard to get Maggie to give him a chance at romance. He will have to work even harder to confront the racism and the violence that his courtship of Maggie ignites.
Hass is written and created by B. Alex Thompson and is drawn by Federico Santagati. Colorist Alivón Ortiz and letterer Krugos join the creative team for the second issue.
Hass #2 opens twelve hours after the incident that ended the first issue. Josh is dealing with the terrible injury visited upon his body. Neo-Nazi associates of Maggie tattooed a Nazi swastika on the left side of his chest. Josh, furious with Maggie and no longer trusting her, sends her away.
Now, he plots revenge against his attackers, but what will he do when he meets the Neo-Nazis: Cole (the leader), Rocky (or “Shamrock”), Vargas, Gavin, and Sharky? What Josh ends up doing shocks even himself!
THE LOWDOWN: The back cover copy of Hass #2, like the back cover of the first issue, describes Hass as “William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet meets American History X” (the 1998 film). I think such a description makes for the kind of cover copy that can sell a comic book to curious readers.
So far, the first two issues of Hass offer some of B. Alex Thompson's (Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies) best writing. I prefer to describe Thompson's writing and Hass in general in bold strokes. It is bold, visionary, daring, ballsy, and shameless. It is also a pure joy to read. In comic books like Hass, Thompson goes against the grain in writing a comic books in a manner similar to what British comic book writers like Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, and Warren Ellis did.
I do not want to spoil Hass #2, but I can say that this is the kind of comic book that DC Comics wishes it could publish through it “DC Black Label” imprint. Hass is the kind of comic book DC's now-castrated Vertigo Comics imprint would have published. Anyone who reads it will see that it is the kind of “mature readers” comic book that will cause a sensation and an urge to get copies in the way that Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Preacher did a quarter-century ago.
Underneath some beautiful cover art, artist Federico Santagati turns Thompson's bold vision into some powerful graphical storytelling. Santagati's dynamic and unconventional compositions are perfect for this unorthodox comic book. As usual, Alivón Ortiz's color accentuates the story and captivates the imagination. Krugos' lettering captures the subversiveness of this narrative and gives the story a rapid fire pace. Yes, indeed; kudos to this creative team for making Hass #2 a grand winner.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Readers looking for bold comic book storytelling will want Hass.
10 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
http://alexthompsonwriter.com/
https://www.comixology.com/Approbation-Comics/comics-publisher/7396-0
www.ApprobationComics.com
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.
---------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment