Slaughterman’s Creed is one of those comics I go back and forth about as it has so much going for it and so much that’s interesting, but doesn’t quite pull it off.  It has clear influences in crime/noir and the new wave of British noir movies.

The series follows the character called the Slaughterman who is a mob boogeyman sent out to torture and teach lessons to his family’s enemies.  That concept right there is pretty solid.  It’s an interesting character, one that’s calm, quiet and cold.  He’s sent after the mob boss’s girl who has run away.  From there it’s kind of hard to go into further details without giving things away.  The mob winds up turning on the Slaughterman, get a weirder character to take over and the comic turns into a story of revenge.

If it was kept to the mob, Slaughterman, escaped girl and all the criss-cross, I’d probably be ok, but there’s this tattooed character, at least I think he is, that really throws me off.  He’s that “whacky” character that’s out of place, the look is striking and just doesn’t fit the rest of the comic.

The pacing is solid, there’s good twists and turns and double crosses.  Something just doesn’t totally click for me.  When I think British noir, I think Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatched.  This has that potential and at points looks like it’ll be a good comic book heir to them, but doesn’t quite reach that level.

Also going against it is the depth of solid crime and noir comics on the market right now.  There’s so much out there, and so much quality, it’s hard not to compare.  When it comes down to it, there’s nothing bad about the comic.  It’s actually pretty decent.  There’s just so much else out there, I’d go to first.

Writer – Cy Dethan Art: Stephen Downey Publisher: Markosia

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read

Graphic Policy was provided with FREE copies for review.