Review: SAINTS #1

saints

SAINTS #1
Written by Sean Lewis
Art by Benjamin Mackey
Published by Image Comics
Release Date: October 7, 2015

Meet the Saints. Far from your usual religious zealots, Blaise, Sebastian, and Lucy are pulled together to utilize their superhuman powers against the opposing forces.

Saints #1 by Sean Lewis and Benjamin Mackey and published by Image Comics packs a very strange story into nearly 40 pages. This first issue opens by introducing Blaise and his metal band, their dark persona, and his bizarre “dark touch”. Right from the get-go, this issue tells you just enough to show its supernatural tone, but doesn’t go into much detail with what’s actually going on.

With some opening issues, this isn’t a problem, but with Saints #1, I found myself struggling to keep reading, even with my interest peaked. The main issue is that the characters so far are wholly unlikable. They’re crude (but not necessarily funny), self-absorbed, and uni-dimensional. By the end of the issue, I liked Blaise, the main character, a little more, but not enough to really root for him and his cause.

This first issue had a couple of great scenes, like when Blaise first meets Sebastian the Saint. However, these scenes are few and far between. For the most part, this issue reads like its trying to hard to be something, which impedes the natural flow. Too often the story skips to the next plot point without making me feel like I understood the previous one. With forty pages, I feel like there should have been more to grab onto.

What I did like about this story was the art. Benjamin Mackey has a fun, minimalist style that is easy to read. The art flows really well panel to panel and page to page, and I never had to flip back and forth trying to figure out what just happened. The cartoony tone of the art may seem like a strange pick for such a dark book with unsavory characters, but ultimately, the art works in its favor. It portrays the at-times goofy subject matter well, while also conveying a serious tone for some of the more sobering moments. The colors in this book are dark and natural overall, and do a great job in unifying the dream sequences with the regular story.

Saints #1 will interest those who enjoy stories with religious themes, and especially those who like to watch characters grow. I’m inclined to think this book will be as much about a religious war as Blaise’s climb to maturity. While he might be pretty unlikeable in this first issue, there’s plenty of room for potential and growth alongside his fellow Saints. If the story slows down a little and finds its footing, there’s a lot of fun to be had in this world.

The Verdict: 7.5/10

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