Hieronymous Anonymous #1
By Craig Johnson Synopsis:
Some superheroes gain their powers from radioactivity accidents. Some from aliens. Some from mutations. Others from weird fathers and vomit birth from their mothers. Welcome to Hieronymous Anonymous.
click on the picture for an even larger version
Credits:
Writer/Artist: Edward Norden
Publisher: Sick Puppy Studios
Ordering: Via your local comics shop, or www.sickpuppystudios.net
Format:
Standard US comic sized, 32 pages, black and white with greyscale, colour cover.
The Story:
We kick off with God running us through Hieronymous’s origin story, this takes up most of the issue with a fair smattering of swear words, a mystery father, a Maria-esque mother with a disturbing “interest” in animals, interrupted by a talking hand (yeah yeah, Talk To The Hand takes on a whole new meaning in this book) and a cameo appearance from Gabriel, St Michael and St Peter and ending with the Mystic Curdler of Caridor. Er, yes.
There’s a lot of dialogue but the book rattles along at a fair old pace (see below): possibly too much space is given over to the origin story, and not enough to the actual Hieronymous out in the world, fighting crime, part of it.
The Art:
click on the picture for an even larger version
As you can see from the scans here, the art is a cartoony, energetic style, whose purpose is to entertain rather than try to set any standards. It does the job, it suits the story well, and it gives the book a great deal of pace – despite the extensive dialogue. That’s a tricky job to pull off, so kudos to Norden for pulling it off in style.
And Finally…:
The problem with “humour” comics is that, unlike action stories you can’t come close to success – you’re either funny, or you’re not. This one comes very close to the precipice of failure, and you’ve really got to appreciate Norden’s weird sense of humour of get the best out of it.
Outro:
May 12th and 13th, 2007.
That’s the Bristol International Comic Expo 2007.
SBC will be there, talking and promoting UK Comics plus some special extras.
Wanna be there as one of our guests?
Stay tuned for more info, or write in and ask for details!
Maybe next time!
-- Craig.
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