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Written By: Simon Spurrier
Illustrated By: Charlie Adlard
Colored By: Sofie Dodgson
Lettered By: Jim Campbell
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
“They don’t make them like they used to!” It is a phrase you often hear a lot in any community, but especially in comics. Nostalgia is big in this medium and with that this idea that the past always did it better. Better is certainly in the eye of the beholder but reading Damn Them All I get a feeling like I have not had since reading peak Vertigo comics.
For one, Simon Spurrier and Charlie Adlard have gone away from the conventional decompressed storytelling of the day. As has been the case with each issue this is packed with story and adds layers to a world that was quite well formed already. The true plan of the 500 Club is revealed and it is a nice combination of being both twisted as well as a bit pathetic in how no matter what the tool is the rich and powerful so often require affirmation to feel important.
Unsurprisingly, Charlie Adlard excels in assembling scene after scene of absolute twisted chaos. From the construction of a demon the size of a massive building, to the design of a room that looks like the combination of Big Brother meets Stigmata. Sofie Dogson’s colors are lynchpin to those scenes working. A heavy use of black and shadows knows what to hide to allow our imagination to fill in the gloomy details, which is juxtaposed nicely with the use of negative space and bright accents to demonstrate the corrupt power of the angels.
When talking about art one cannot forget the work of Letter Jimp Campbell. This is a book with a verbose script and a lot of art on the page. Never though are the art or words competing for page space. This is a team working in tandem to put out the best piece of art possible. Campbell has a fair share of effective stylistic choices as well, like the oddly shaped balloons and fonts for demon dialog balloons, or how the color of words will fade or bold to emphasize punctuation. Small details go a long way.
As mentioned this is an issue that is packed with story and at times it seemed like something was being missed. New characters were introduced such as an underground arms dealer and a young man with major mommy issues who seemed disconnected from the story at large. Of course, that was not the case as all those threads wove together quite impressively as this issue came to a close. Quite a bit of craftsmanship there.
With that said it can be challenging to get your bearings considering how much is going on with this narrative. Here everything began to shift into focus as the world of the 500 Club was fully presented, yet that solace ended quickly with an ending that shifted where this story appeared to be heading.
On the bright side moments like that certainly keep you on your toes. We do get the “From the Papers of Alfred Hawthorne” sections that add context, but personally have never been a fan of using a complete page of text within a comic. A choice that seems to be more and more common in today’s comic book world. Those issues of course are much more a subjective take, and could easily be solved with a reread or two.
Ultimately, issue ten of Damn Them All is one of the best issues of one of the best series in comics today. While this series is reminiscent of comics of the past, it is telling a story that is very much of the now. Something that is made even clearer with this installment. With issue twelve set to be the ending of this arc (hopefully not the series in general) the $#!@ is about to hit the proverbial fan.
