Angels, Devils and Poop Jokes: A Review of ‘Cherubs’ TPB

Title: Cherubs

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Bryan Talbot

Artist: Mark Stafford

Cover Art: Mark Stafford

Pages: 192

Format: B&W; Hard Cover, 6″ x 9″

Retail Price: $19.99

Dark Horse synopsis: Falsely accused of heaven’s first homicide, five churlish cherubim escape to New York in pursuit of the renegade archangel Abbadon on the eve of the Apocalypse! Befriended by exotic-dancer Mary and chased by unstoppable Seraphim terminators, the Cherubs alone stand against hell’s hordes as Satan prepares to make war, not love!

***

The easiest way to break down this review is with the old, “I’ve got some good news, and I’ve got some bad news” shtick. First, the bad news:

When the topic of religion is tackled in fiction, authors traditionally have to apply a pseudo-reverent sensibility to the material, or risk alienation of any potential adherents to the faith(s) being fictionalized. “Cherubs” tackles the titular beings from Biblical reference, but with a huge twist:

They seem to have erased the character names from the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” story, replaced them with cherubim, added a fifth member, made April O’Neill a stripper, and made Shredder and Krang into Abaddon and Lucifer. And much like TMNT, it initially appeared to be aimed at a juvenile/young adult market. The dialogue was simplistic. The story, while covering age-old themes and characters, was base-level. The use of sexuality was present, yet not over-the-top pornographic. It was approachable for someone who does not demand much of the author in the ways of thought provocation. These are not intended to be insulting observations, mind you (save for the TMNT comparison). These are meant to help categorize the comic in such a way as to steer away people who expect a great deal of start-to-finish depth and originality from their comics. Jaded old critics need not apply.

On the point of reverence, Cherubs plays fast and loose with Biblical source material in the same way many other stories have (“Supernatural”, both the comic and the show, and the films “Dogma” and “Stigmata” all come to mind). However, it uses the concepts of the ethereal beings more as a jumping-off point for a paint-by-number, fish-out-of-water, [hyphenated-cliche-descriptor-here] hero troupe story, rife with the most basic tropes most readers have seen used in abundance. There’s the “we don’t have this back home” intertwined with bodily functions. There’s the “rather reign in Hell than serve in Heaven” treacherous bad guy, literally, played by Abaddon (he even uses this same quote in a turn of completely inessential exposition). There’s the “it wasn’t me – it was the One-Armed Man!” played by the titular characters, running from both the “good guys” and the “bad guys”. There’s the pop culture references (omitted here to avoid spoiling the sight gags). This trope list goes on, whereas I will spare the reader of this review that expense.

Now, the good news:

Whatever readers read this from start to finish are exactly the target market the authors are trying to reach. After setting up all of the exposition, the story has a very large, diverse sandbox in which to play. With the intermingling of humans with cherubim, vampires, fallen angels, faithful angels, demons, etc., the ongoing story could, in theory, write itself. And, fortunately, the story pretty much does write itself. Although I spent a paragraph trope-bashing Cherubs, tropes are practically unavoidable in any form of modern storytelling. When tropes are used, they are used appropriately. Surely, there aren’t many ways to re-spin the tale of Abaddon or of Lucifer. I only wish some of the tropes had been re-gifted in fresher wrapping paper. Though, I do appreciate how the story never seems to take itself too seriously. Good guys vs. bad guys can get pretty heavy-handed with almost no warning. Cherubs avoids this, remaining light-hearted throughout.

As for the artwork, there are some pretty good visual jokes thrown into the background. One thing I can always appreciate is the evidence of an artist who cares about the details. When my eye wanders off of the primary characters in the frame, I am treated to some clever little puns: a woman reading a book called “Women Are from Venus, Other Women Are from Venus”; a beer called “Blind Toad” with a subtle logo of a toad wearing sunglasses; a guy wearing a shirt that says, “SORRY MA”, and so on. There is even a nod to Bosch and Giger in there! Someone knows what they’re talking about.

The character design is solid, with good line work, original forms and imaginative simplicity. The facial expressions, while at times redundant, are effective at conveying emotion. We see a good range demonstrated in the early going of this work. This brings me to a revelation about this whole comic: since the artist is proficient in emotive exposition, the storytelling need not be so expository. Personally, I would rather see images used to portray surprise, wonder, fear, confusion, etc. than have the characters reminding me that “in Heaven, we don’t poop”. In simplest terms, the artwork is substantially better than the dialogue. Once the writers get more public feedback on this work, I expect to see any of their possible future collaborations lean much more heavily upon its artistic storytelling than upon words.