Malevolent #1 – Fighting Fire with Fire

Malevolent shows us demons are real and are taking over materialistic things rather than humans. This causes the police department to enlist the help of a scientist to create something…

Creative Team

Justin Jordan (Writer), John Bivens (Artist/Cover), Felipe Sobreiro (Colorist), Crank! (Letterer)

Publisher: Image Comics, INC.

Malevolent

This is the first issue of a new arc, Malevolent, from Image Comics, written by Justin Jordan. It takes place thirty years in the past. Demons exist and rather than attaching themselves to humans, they are taking possession of materialistic things within the world. Which is pretty scary but reminds me of that scene in Transformers 2 when all of the household appliances come to life.

You are taken to a crime scene where a demon is suspected of taking over a building. An entire task force is introduced along with certain equipment that is used to help deflect the demons. Upon arrival to this building, it is very evident that something is wrong with this scene. But the task force enters anyway.

Once the task force is within the heart of the building, it becomes known that the demon is taking over the building! It (the demon) comes up through the floor devouring officers. This is when a scientist for the police force is given no choice but to release a new incentive for the task force. That would be a “Frankenstein” creation. Half human, half demon, molded into one being whose sole mission is to eliminate demons.

In true “cop story” fashion, there are some “old-school” officers on the task force who are not thrilled with the presence of “Morgan” (demon/human). Which is understandable. How are you expected to trust something that was created in a lab that is partially something you are tasked with eliminating? But those feelings and reservations about Morgan change once the officer’s witness all that Morgan is capable of.

Morgan comes into the building and cuts loose on the demon. There are some comedic tones to this section of the story. Morgan seems to be in the mindset of a child. The dialogue reflects that. Even though she resembles a child, she has the mindset of a warrior that is willing to think outside the box to complete her objective.

Morgan completes her objective in a way that is honorable to the officers of the task force. She does so in a way that for a brief moment she changes the mind of one of the senior officers for just a split second. Which scares the mess out of him! How could he change his way of thinking in a second to help something that he doesn’t agree with?

This first issue ends with Morgan in the back of a tank, bound, with a smile on her face. She says out loud, “This was fun.” This is how you can tell that there is so much more to come for Morgan within this arc. And I’m here for it! I suspect that there will be bigger and scarier challenges ahead for Morgan, and the task force is going to have no choice after this debut to welcome her as a regular member.

Artwork

The art of John Bivens for this book is spectacular! The highlight coloration given to the demon gives it a Tron feel. The facial details bring so much life to the emotion or strain that the character is feeling or going through within the panels. And the use of a pink background within panels featuring Morgan help to accent her character. I cannot wait to see more!

Final Thoughts

I want to start off by saying that this type of story is not something that I read. But after giving this first issue of Malevolent a shot, I must say that it has opened my eyes to trying more comics that I normally steer clear of. This book is the start of something that I hope brings a whirlwind of devastation. The storytelling combined with the artwork bring this to a larger scale. I’m surprised the panels are big enough to hold it in. Image Comics has something special here, and I cannot wait to keep up with this story! Go get your copy of this first issue!

Grade: 8/10

Previous Review of Mine: The Amazing Spider-Man #20: Night of the Goblin

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