Tag Archives: matt battaglia

Regicide #3 gets its freak on and doesn’t just give another generic fantasy village

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A dark and striking comic book cover depicting a cloaked figure with a mask seated behind two bald, posed figures, near a fire; the background features a patterned wall.

Mihas and Doru’s perilous quest to assassinate the tyrannical ruler of Transylvania continues in Regicide #3 by Patrick Kindlon, Ludovic Lalliat, and Rio Oka. Most of the action takes place in the city of Orasul Supuhere, or Obedience City, which is more BDSM club or a scene from Hellraiser than a nice place to have a beer, some food, and a place to rest. The burly peasant Mihas and the masked Doru immediately stand out and don’t have the best time as violence ensues. This isn’t the best issue of Regicide, but I love that Kindlon and Lalliat get their freak on and don’t just give us another generic fantasy village.

The comic especially shines in its character design and fight choreography. Patrick Kindlon and Ludovic Lalliat play the situation in Obedient City fairly deadpan, with the cropped harness-sporting Wellthen immediately offering our protagonists hospitality. It’s nothing that the farmer Mihas is used to, and there’s humor in his awkward facial expressions as he’s surrounded by folks wearing leather, latex, and less. But what is initially a public display of kink turns into paralleling the very forces that Mihas is commissioned to take out: tyranny and control. The people of Obedient City have been gaslit into being beaten bloody without their consent while thinking it’s consensual. Kindlon uses the keyword “compulsory” to show that these people have been conscripted into the BDSM lifestyle and didn’t choose it willingly. This plot point gels pretty well with the two full-page flashback sequences of the founding of Obedient City where Ludoviv Lalliat’s art doesn’t match Patrick Kindlon’s propaganda-infused words.

One of my favorite things about Regicide, other than Lalliat’s unique visuals, is how he and Kindlon infuse elements of Romanian, Eastern European, and general Medieval European culture into a violent, anti-authoritarian fantasy quest story. I’m unfamiliar with a lot of the references, but the antagonists in Regicide #3 are totally based on the Flagellants, a Christian sect that thought they could gain salvation by being beaten and tortured. The comic ups the ante by building an entire city around their beliefs in a similar way to how an extreme, theocratic sect of Anabaptists took over Munster, Germany in the 16th century. Common sense versus fanaticism is a relatable conflict, and Ludovic Lalliat revels in the battle royale between Mihas and Odeta, which involves lots of whips and chains and a little bit of levitation. This is because my other favorite thing about Regicide is when Mihas is a badass and kicks ass regular guy style with Lalliat using varied angles to show his physical prowess.

In addition to the main quest narrative, Regicide has a short backup from Kindlon and Matt Battaglia setting up a battle between monks and demons. This installment builds the tension as supernatural forces mass outside the gates of the city. Battaglia’s use of color and light (Or lack of light.) creates a feeling of darkness overwhelming what little good is left the world. “The Monastery” continues to complement the themes of Regicide‘s lead story as it tells a more conventional historical fiction tale with just a smidgen of the supernatural.

In Regicide #3, Patrick Kindlon, Ludovic Lalliat, Rio Oka, and Matt Battaglia continue to put their own spin on the horror and fantasy genres as regular Joes and freak shows collide in a sexy, yet unsettling rest stop on their way to join assassination nation.

Story: Patrick Kindlon Art: Ludovic Lalliat with Rio Oka, Matt Battaglia
Story: 7.5 Art: 9.0 Overall: 8.3 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Review: Leap M

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Leap M

There are many different types of crime stories. Leap M, a new one-shot from Action Lab‘s Danger Zone imprint, is one of the most original I’ve come across in a long time. It has the mood of a noir story, the emotional charge of a revenge fantasy, and the futuristic edge of a science-fiction thriller. The premise of Leap M revolves around a brutal but efficient means of controlling prison populations. This method gives new meaning to the saying, “the only real prison is your mind.” Convicted prisoners are chemically aged to match however much time they’ve been sentenced to serve. Then a virtual reality chip is inserted into the prisoner’s skull. The chip simulates the full length of their sentence within their mind and then runs a rehabilitation program. 

After being framed for a murder he did not commit, Wilbur submits to his punishment and is aged forty-five years while undergoing the rehabilitation program. Once he’s released from prison, Wilber sets out to get revenge on those who framed him. Once Wilbur has been introduced and the plot details established, the story moves forward at an enthralling pace. Writer Doug Wood makes the most out of every page as Wilber works to discover who framed him and then sets out to enact his revenge. There’s a lot of visual storytelling, which I always enjoy. Wood generally keeps the dialogue to a minimum. When there is text in a panel it is narration that adds to a scene instead of just explaining what the reader is already seeing on the page. The narration sets the tone and the dialogue and action follow it seamlessly.

Artist Matt Battaglia doesn’t use the most refined or detailed style, but his illustrations fit the tone of Leap M perfectly. His heavy lines and dark shadowing are well suited for a gritty revenge story. The colors used by Battaglia in this comic differ from those of classic noir works. Instead of black and white with the occasional pop of bright red or another accent color, Battaglia uses muted greens and blues. Accent colors are used to fill in the background of panels. There’s also a flashback that is presented in full color. In the flashback, Battaglia does a great job of capturing the ferocity and direness of a battlefield. 

Leap M has everything I want out of a crime story. Action that gets your adrenaline pumping, high stakes that deliver palpable tension, and a conclusion that produces an emotional response. I must confess that I’m not usually the biggest fan of the comics Action Lab puts out. However, Leap M has truly converted me. From the writing to the page layouts to the art, this one-shot is a prime example of quality comic book storytelling. 

Story: Doug Wood Art: Matt Battaglia Letters: Justin “Lettersquids”
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Action Lab provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology

Preview: Leap M

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LEAP M

Writer Name(s): Doug Wood
Artist Name(s): Matt Battaglia (Pencils, inks, and colors) and Lettersquids (Letters)
Cover Artist Name(s): Matt Battaglia
28 pgs./M/FC $2.99
Digital Release

In the future, to eliminate the overcrowding prison population, The US Government has created the Leap Machine, which ages a convict to their age of sentencing within an hour. A young dishonorably discharged veteran is framed for a crime and sentenced to the Leap. Now with the clock running out, he seeks revenge on the person who stole his life.

A tight revenge thriller in the vein of Frank Miller’s Sin City with the sci-fi revenge-edge of Rian Johnson’s Looper.

Up-and-coming writer Doug Wood, artist Matt Battaglia (colorist on Micheal Moreci’s Roche Limit), letterer Justin “Lettersquids”, and editor Nicole D’Andria team to bring to life a brutal story of revenge and time stolen.

LEAP M

Review: Indoctrination #1

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indoc_01_cover_final-01How do you kill an idea? Across the dusty plains of America’s southwest, a deadly storm is brewing. A string of murders portend the sinister designs of an infamous terrorist to bring about the end times. Two FBI agents have heeded the signs, and only their rogue actions, aided by a potentially untrustworthy expatriate with deep ties to the terrorist, can push this darkness back. Indoctrination explores America’s terrifying underbelly-of death cults and sleeper cells, serial killers and apocalyptic nightmares.

Take the X-Files, mix in characters that feel like they’d be more comfortable in Se7en, and add cults, and I feel like you’ve got Indoctrination, written by Michael Moreci. Matt Battaglia joins Moreci on art, and the two together kick off this new series that attempts to go a bit deeper than bad guys doing things.

What I like about Indoctrination is that it starts with the familiar and uses that to dive into more, and deeper, discussion, especially when it comes to one’s motivation. This is a dive into the mind of the crazy person, Silence of the Lambs, but terrorism. That attempt to give us a bit more than “they hate us” for motivation is partially what makes this first issue stand out. Not everything is completely clear, but it’s a solid start that brings us into this world that feels familiar, but slightly off at the same time (like a horror story).

There is some oddness such as a short essay by Matt Kibbe, a Libertarian that attempts to explain some of the series concepts, while only focusing on the evil committed by “some” individuals. It’s an interesting read, but definitely has problems in how it’s presented. It focuses on blaming extremists in Islam, while overlooking crimes committed by Christians for instance. There’s also some irony in railing against indoctrination, which is in itself a type of indoctrination…

What also makes this stand out is Battaglia’s art which really fits the feel of it all. The dirty and scratchy look of it fits the vibe of the series and is what I’d expect from a solid noir/crime comic. The art shouldn’t feel polished, and in this case it reflects the madness within.

The first issue is a solid start. There’s some slight issues, the essay in the end as an example. But, overall, the comic is a beginning that has me wanting to come back for more. This is a series that wants you to explore ideas and think about them. So far it’s set things up, where it goes will be interesting.

Story: Michael Moreci Art: Matt Battaglia
Story: 8.05 Art: 8 Overall: 8.05 Recommendation: Buy

Z2 Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

 

Moreci and Battaglia’s Indoctrination announced by Z2

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“How do you kill an idea?”

Across the dusty plains of America’s southwest, a deadly storm is brewing. A string of murders portend the sinister designs of an infamous terrorist to bring about the end times. Two FBI agents have heeded the signs, and only their rogue actions—aided by a potentially untrustworthy expatriate with deep ties to the terrorist—can push this darkness back.

This June, comic book writer and novelist Michael Moreci and artist and former political operative Matt Battaglia will unleash Indoctrination, a comic book series about America’s terrifying underbelly—of death cults and sleeper cells, serial killers and apocalyptic nightmares. Indoctrination follows these two FBI agents as they develop a complicated relationship with an infamous terrorist, in an attempt to solve a string of grizzly, seemingly related murders. Mixing elements of True Detective with Seven, this new series from Z2 Comics captures the definition of fear in the 21st century.

In a release, Moreci said:

With Indoctrination, we really wanted to create a thrilling, entertaining story that is also a way to explore the reality of death cults like ISIS, and the terror they instill in us which is constantly pulsing beneath the surface of American culture. Collaborating with Matt Battaglia has been ideal, because he’s a gifted artist who has also been able to use his background in politics to inform his work on Indoctrination.

At its core, Indoctrination is an exploration of the power of ideas, and how ideology can drive mankind to act in horrifying ways. The series marks the first full length illustrated comics work of Battaglia who has previously worked for a Washington DC Super PAC.

Indoctrination is due out in June from Z2 Comics, and will retail for $3.99.

indoc_01_cover_final-01

Preview: Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Bestiary #6 (of 6)

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Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Bestiary #6 (of 6)

Authors: Christopher Sebela, Ben Meares, & Mark Miller
Artists: Matt Battaglia, Peter Bergting, & Carlos Magno

The final chapter of this Hellraiser anthology arrives with perhaps its most shocking stories, as Christopher Sebela (Dead Letters) teams up with Matt Battaglia for a tale of a hoarder unlike any you’ve seen on reality TV. Also, Ben Meares and Peter Bergting (Baltimore) show us a scientist racing to crack the secrets of the puzzle box, and in the finale of “The Hunted,” Pinhead comes face to face with those who want to steal his pins.

HRBestiary06_coverA