Writer Jason Aaron and artist R.M. Guéra reunite for a new ongoing series of stark and brutal biblical noir, which begins with an over-sized first issue featuring thirty pages of story.

“And the earth was filled with violence.” Genesis 6:11

It’s 1,655 years after Eden, and life on Earth has already gone to hell. The world of man is a place of wanton cruelty and wickedness. Prehistoric monsters and stone-age marauders roam the land. Murder and destruction are the rule of the day. Humankind is a failed experiment. This is life before the Flood. The story of man on the verge of his first apocalypse. Welcome to the world of the Goddamned.

Aaron and Guéra have shown us they can do a comic series that pays off after a long read, and Aaron regularly writes series where the stories don’t pay off for dozens of issues.

The Goddamned #1 feels like that sort of series slowly teasing out the story and the characters within. It’s not until the final pages that things begin to come together as to who we’ve been reading about and what might be going on.

There are a lot of questions I had, such as why *Redacted* speaks so well, seems to have blond hair, as more advance than everyone else. It’s an oddity that at times took me out of the story. I’m sure we’ll find out why, but for a first issue, it was on my mind a lot.

That said, the first issue is a slow, long build, and I think the reveal at the end was interesting enough to get me to come back for the next issue and made me want to find out more.

The art is solid and continues Guéra’s distinctive style. If you’ve enjoyed his previous work, you’ll enjoy this as well. The individuals are varied and the detail for each is impressive. You’ll find yourself staring a the images, which is important, as they tell as much of the story as the text.

The Goddamned #1 is an interesting start, though didn’t blow me away as expected. Aaron is an amazing writer, and my expectations are probably higher for him than most. Still the comic piqued my interest enough to want to check out the second issue and see how the story builds. If nothing else, this may be a unique and interesting concept, which Aaron excels at building upon.

Story: Jason Aaron Art: R.M. Guéra
Story: 7.65 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review