'Grit' – Wickman, Castaniero, Gough, Myers (Scout Comics)


I'm always on the look out for more fantasy and Sword & Sorcery comics so when I heard tell of 'Grit' (thanks @AnthonyPerconti), it was a very easy purchase to make. And after half a day of chasing a frightened rabbit around my ex's living room, it was a very easy decision to crack open 'Grit', when I got home, and give it a read. Let me see if I can tell you all about it before Saturday becomes Sunday...

When a routine troll hunting gig takes a gruesome turn, the curmudgeonly Old Man Barrow finds himself in the company of a wannabe backwoods doomsday cult. Faced with a problem that can't be solved with the swing of his axe, he's forced to deal with the unintentional consequences of his brutal style of problem solving with the help of Ari, a wandering witch with a short fuse and a firm stance against ultra-violence. Things are bound to get strange for these begrudging traveling companions!

'Grit' was one of those very accessible reads that lets you in quite happily and leaves you to get on with the business of reading. Just the read I was looking for in order to put a little space between me and the rest of the day. Seriously, you try dislodging a rabbit from behind a drinks cabinet, I'll bet you'll want a book like 'Grit' as well ;o) But anyway...

'Grit' does trip itself up a little by skimping on the background and going straight for the jugular of the plot instead. I mean don't get me wrong, there's plenty that's good about the plot (and we'll get onto that in a bit) but the background and concept in general (Sword & Sorcery in a deep south setting? I'm all over it) are so fascinating to me that it's a real shame that we don't get to spend more time with it. And Barrow looks like he'll be a hero worth following so again, it's a shame that we don't get a lot in the way of background for him either. Although having said that, maybe you don't need to know too much about Barrow other than that he is deadly with an axe, has a past he is trying to forget and he doesn't want you to know that he's a little softhearted. Lack of real background to one side, I like him and that's half the battle when you're trying to get me to commit to your story. I'm hoping there'll be more 'Grit' to come so we can learn about the setting and what part Barrow plays in it. Not forgetting Ari either, the sorcery to Barrow's... axe (ahem)

The story itself is fairly simple (mostly fighting monsters... ok, solely fighting monsters) but told with enough verve and energy to get you on board and reading before you know you've been snared. There are some awesome monsters on display though and the mixture of Wickman's writing and Castaniero's potent artwork makes for some spectacular fight scenes at just the right moments (as well as regular background pieces that show how life is hard here, just before it shows you how short it can be as well).

'Grit' was a lot of fun to read and I'm ready for Volume 2 (if there is one). The world builder in me is hoping that the setting is explored in greater depth, I think it would be well worth it if it was.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

‘Deathworlder’ – Victoria Hayward (Black Library)

Image
Before I get into the review proper, thank you Black Library for sending me a copy of ‘Deathworlder’ in return for a fair and honest review. Talking of ‘fair and honest’… There will be loads of the latter but I enjoyed the hell out of ‘Deathworlder’ so… We’ll see how being fair goes ;o) That’s your only warning, lets talk ‘Deathworlder’… Lazulai is a world beyond the brink, its battle against the tyranids all but lost. Once-magnificent cities lie in ruin. The seas boil. The skies crack. Horrific alien bioforms devour. In mere days the planet will be consumed. The 903rd Catachan ‘Night Shrikes’ defend one of the last fortresses still standing. Led by Major Wulf Khan, to die fighting is all that is expected of them… until she is given one last mission: to lead a squad through the apocalypse and recover a piece of archeotech that may doom or deliver the entire Lazulai System. Facing insurmountable odds and zero hope for aid, the major must hold her squad together as they pick their way ...
Read more

‘Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth’ (1992)

Image
Every time Halloween comes round, I promise myself that I’ll watch more horror films and read more horror fiction; we’re halfway through the month and you can see how that’s going so far… There’s still plenty of October left though so lets see how I do from now until the end of the month ;o) First up is ‘Hellraiser 3’ which I watched last night, mostly because I love it (you can tell how this post is going to go, sorry…) but also because it was cheap on Prime and I’m still just on the wrong side of payday. Here goes… TV reporter Joey Summerskill’s life is changed forever when she witnesses the horrific death of a teenager, torn apart by bloody chains. Joey’s search for a story leads her to the Lament Configuration Box but it has already been opened, waking an old evil from its slumber… Now Pinhead walks the earth once more, creating a new army of Cenobites from the transmuted flesh of his victims; his one desire to reclaim the Box. Even with help from an unexpected source, Joey Summers...
Read more

‘Cursed City’ – C.L. Werner (Black Library)

Image
I always have these vague ‘reading resolutions’, for the New Year and without fail, they all come to absolutely nothing. I still read loads, just none of the books that I meant to… This year is panning out slightly differently and I think I’m going to enjoy it. All the books that were originally ‘out of sight, out of mind’, in the loft at my old place, are now all over my new place and wherever I look, I’m constantly discovering books that I totally forgot I had but now quite fancy reading. Books like ‘Cursed City’ for example… I’m not going to tell you how long ‘Cursed City’ was sat in my loft, lets just say it was long enough for me to totally forget it was there and buy myself another copy… Oh well. I found it on the shelf the other day (only the one copy now) and figured it was way overdue a read, let me tell you about it… Ulfenkarn is a city of nightmares. Its vampiric rulers have indulged their bloodlust in every shadow-clad alley, turning the once-proud metropolis into a charnel...
Read more