Terrible, swift sword, indeed.
The lord is back (Not come back . . . still time till that happens) in action and taking on the denizens of the Pit. After having laid Mammon and Cerberus low, the Christ sets his sights on the lake of fire and its guardian: Abbadon. Destined to be the destroyer at the End of Days (I’d still go with Mr. Stay Puft, personally.), he stands between Jesus and his final confrontation. When both are prophesied to be at the End of Days, how can their fight truly end?
Matt Schorr continues his tale of JC hewing a path through Hell’s biggest and baddest in the second issue. While the first issue pitted might vs. right(eous fury), the Son of God has to find more tactics to defeat one whose purpose is foretold for Revelations. The narrative continues in the same straightforward manner, with Jesus just walking up to the baddies, tapping them on the shoulder, and then waxing theological with them whilst plying their flesh with his holy wrath. The one hitch is that Abbadon cannot be destroyed, so it leaves Jesus to think quickly to get past him. The debate this time around centers on the negative aspects of the faith, where “bad things” are allowed to happen, namely that the end of the bible is where the world falls in pain and blood, and if there’s no way to stop it, then why struggle through? These are the queries that Jesus and Abbadon examine through their combat, and though dogma is ultimately the victor, the conversation that brings us there is interesting in its own right. It’s no surprise who Christ calls out at the end, but it does make for an epic splash page.
Christian Wilkens returns to illustrate the land of the damned. The lake of fire is one of the primal images of Hell, and Wilkens does his best to convey the loss and desperation of the souls trapped there. Abbadon’s design is rooted in the tradition of the Church (namely bits and pieces of mythological beasts and pagan gods), and he seems terrible, yet familiar enough so that it makes the skin twitch a bit when he converses so eloquently. The action is smooth and believable (as believable as you can get anyhow), with the physical rules intact and applied evenly throughout. JC gets pretty intense in this one, and his strong features still manage to convey the love and determination for his quest.
The continuing series will entice readers who enjoy theological discussions with a side of @$$ kicking, letting the Right Hand of the Father spank some of those who defied him in the beginning. I’m interested in seeing how the final issue plays out.
Share the stories that move you.
