Available at DriveThruComics.com

Written by Jeff (Arzynart.com)

Let me start off by saying that when I read the intro to the comic, I thought “Oh joy, another comic pointing out the flaws with the government and society.” The intro starts off in a very Escape from New York type way, explaining how society crumbled beneath the government’s assault on civil liberties and how the world has been devastated by nuclear war. For me, this felt very familiar and somewhat repetitive from the beginning, and I at first felt that the story might be one dozens of comics that are out dealing with this.

Then the story begins, and Jeff breaks out of repetition right away by showing the main character dreaming. The dream was original, to say the least! Christopher’s dreams show how he has many issues, and the few pages of his dream help define the character. When I see Christopher walk the streets of his city, I have a general idea about the character’s past without the need for exposition.

The story is about a young man living in a police state. The internet has become the chief propaganda tool of the government, and camera-like tentacles are everywhere to monitor citizens. Broad skyscrapers dominate the skyline with propaganda dominating advertising spaces.

Current events make up the backdrop of the story as well. In One Live Beast, rising gas prices, terrorism, and corrupt business practices contribute to the rise of the police state. All of these lead to Christopher’s rise as a hero, as his attempt to rebel against the police state inadvertently leads to him gaining his powers.

The issue does have its flaws when it comes to the story. At time the story seems to flow too quickly, and some of the finer details of the story are glossed over Christopher seems to have the ability to blur his image when it’s recorded, but that is never explained. Many characters appear in and out of the story but their names are never mentioned, and the scenes with the government soldiers who pursue Christopher felt rushed and shorter than they needed to be.

Jeff has a unique style to his artwork. There were a lot of little details that I enjoyed viewing such as the curls on a girl’s hair, the cracks on the walls of the buildings, and his use of scars and wrinkles to detail characters. More impressive were the splash pages he did, particularly at the end. These pages were well illustrated, and conveyed all the information he was trying to tell. Each page flowed in sequence with the others, and Jeff captured Christopher’s movements well.

So I admit, One Live Beast surprised me. It had sweeping visuals, a decent story, and it held some originality to it. It shows great promise, and looks like it can deliver on the action. I highly recommend the series and I’m looking forward to reading the next issues.

Review by John Kennedy

Tags | horror comics