Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
The Strange Talent of Luther Strode #2 of 6
Image Comics
Jordan, Moore & Sobreiro
I am always on the lookout for that book that brings something new. Whether it be a bizarre story angle, a hefty serving of violence that shows death in ways that I hadn't thought of, a zombie story about people doing bad things to other people or about a cop who eats body parts at a crime scene to learn what's happened. Chew, Kick-Ass, Existence 2.0 and Walking Dead come to mind in recent years. Luther Strode is approaching that status. Oh sure there have been tons of books that deal with ordinary teenaged nerds getting super powers and not knowing how to control themselves. However, it isn't the hook of the story that I find different but the execution. Luther is filled with an uncontrollable rage, even if just a hallucination at times, but it's the creativity in the presentation of the violence that helps this to be so unique.
The story is pretty straightforward in this issue. Luther gets bigger as he tries to figure out what to make of his new found abilities. While this is happening Luther's friends start to move out of their comfort zone as they realize they have a monster on their side. Also, we get more of a glimpse of the building threat that Luther faces.
The comic book has two memorable bloody parts in it. One deals with the unbelievably gory scene when Luther appears to completely lose control and rip apart some of his fellow students in the school hallway. The second one is when the villains show up at a civilian's house to enlist some help against Luther. Both of these scenes lead me to the artwork.
The first issue reminded me a lot of Kick-Ass and John Romita Jr's style of violence. This issue changes that. Moore shows sickening creativity in how the violence is expressed in the book. The panel with the couple sitting at the table all mangled and torn apart had me staring in shock of what I was looking at. Sobreiro's use of red and the various shades of red is simply amazing and adds a level of creepiness to the already brutal depiction of violence. This is a flawless visual comic book.
Another aspect I like about the comic book is the character of Luther's love interest, Petra. Jordan is correct in his letter in the back that Petra completely eats up every scene in the book where she appears. Petra is definitely a character that has the potential to branch off into her own subplot if she doesn't completely take this book over. Jordan just has a knack for writing this character going against everything that the reader most likely suspects from her type of role in a book like this.
Luther Strode is about to take off and I am glad to be on board at the ground level. If you like violence, surprises and a fast-paced story then I urge you to pick this up. I definitely recommend this series.
4.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
