Why So Blu?

‘Superior Carnage’ Shows Dull Teeth in Issue #1

By now, all comic book fans are familiar with the history of the homicidal maniac Cletus Kasady. A little bit of that symbiote alien left Spidey and jumped on the serial killer way back when and look at him now. He’s been beat down, beat up, sent into orbit and died in space but you can’t keep a crazy man down for long. His dreadful alter ego is back in the new mini-series; Superior Carnage.

Issue #1 kicks off with a white collar criminal moved to a super-max, super-villain penitentiary as he ponders his misfortune in being transferred there.  The office felon even narrates for a bit and guides readers up to the point of the arrival of one Cletus Kasady.  I’m not giving anything away when I say that’s when all hell breaks loose.  If you couldn’t figure out that would be coming, I’d say go back to bed and try again tomorrow.

This is a very pop culture, lots-of-fluff and nothing-deep kind of title.  With that being said, there is a nice little twist where Marvel dusts off one of its less used, but still dangerous characters from the past.  It was a welcomed and very necessary aspect in this premier issue, because without it, this book would have been a complete waste of $3.99.  As it stands, that’s already steep for what turned out to be a largely uninteresting read.  The only reason I’ll pursue issue #2 is because I think Carnage is one of the most wicked characters ever drawn in a comic book and I want to see if this story can be saved.

Superior Carnage #1 needs more rescuing than a damsel tied to railroad tracks.  Kevin Shinick (Robot Chicken) commandeers the story here, and not all that impressively if you haven’t noticed by now.  Shinick is a solid talent with a pen.  I’m not sure if the powers that be at Marvel told him this is how the story must go or if it’s his own creation, but either way, it does not flatter his resumé.

Artist Stephen Segovia is responsible for the visual craftsmanship on the pages.  The lines are just a little too smooth and pretty for me.  There is, however, one close-up of Carnage that proves to be a rather impressive rendering with asymmetric spikes protruding from his limbs while random tendrils wildly extend from various parts of his alien skin.  The rest of it reminds me more of a Super Nintendo game box cover than what should be a gritty and less sterile appearance.  Now if the pages looked more like the issue’s cover, that would be a whole different ball game.

If you’re a huge fan of the character like I am, you will likely be sorely disappointed for this mini-series’ kick-off issue.  Here’s hoping this story will evolve and blow my mind, because right now, all it did was blow four dollars.

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