Writer: Mike Carey
Artist: Dean Ruben Hyrapiet
Publisher: Virgin Comics
I understand the hook here, I really do. Many people want to know what in the world has been poking around the head of comics aficionado Nic Cage all these years. He wanted to be Superman, and he was Ghost Rider. People will check this book out because it has his name on it.
Here’s what I think actually happened. His son Weston actually might have some writing chops in him. Added to that, I know Mike Carey has a strangle hold on his craft. Those two probably had some good talks and pounded this story out. Let me ask you this: would you blindly check out an indie book written by Weston Cage and Mike Carey? I say maybe.
I say all of that because it is a shame. This is an interesting, fresh story that deserves a chance a being successful on its own.
Voodoo Child is a story that started in the bayous of New Orleans at the precipice of the Civil War. The South is about to secede and for the family of Mason Moore, the war began a little early. My guess is Moore was part of some sort of slave freedom underground organization, and his neighbors found out. His family tried to escape and in the process, Moore’s son Gabriel was shot.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
Billy Blameless, the resident witch doctor, shows up and grants the dying boy powers not normally seen in comics. The story then turns to the present day, where this voodoo-enhanced boy is using his powers to take down the crooked underworld in post-Katrina Nawlins. Again, neat concept that with some development might turn into a good series for Virgin.
Let me use Cage’s movie credits to help describe the hero of this book. Imagine Ghost Rider but as a boy and with less fantastic powers. The more I thought of it, the more the story made sense to me. Maybe the acclaimed actor and his son were sitting around the set during the filming of Ghost Rider and talked about what they would do to the character if they could make him how they wanted.
I may be wrong. They could have had this idea in their heads for years; I’m just a hick from Texas with nothing else to do besides pick this book to death. It still sounds right to me.
As with most Virgin artists, I am unfamiliar with Hyrapiet’s work. The pencils have great shape and creativity to fit this story. Where I see the artwork needing improvement is with the inks and colors. Certain details seem to be lost in certain panels, but that’s just my opinion. I like the design for our protagonist, and with some help in shading he can only get better. The other thing that struck me as odd with the art is the panel layout. It was too straight and clean for me. Hyrapiet’s work would have been enhanced even further with a more disjointed feel to the panels. The greatest deviation from a typical layout was when Gabriel was brought back from the dead, and it wasn’t that big of a change. Don’t be afraid to mix up the page layout, Dean! Go nuts! You work for Virgin after all!
I would say this book is worth a shot for those like me who are getting tired of DC and Marvel. It’s got an anti-hero who doesn’t mind getting a bit bloody while trying to avenge his family. Carey is starting to climb my chart of competent writers, and I fully expect more reading from this title.
Cage or no Cage.
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