Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Jonas Goonface
Letterer: Colin Bell
Cover: Jonas Goonface
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Si Spurrier, writer of Six-Gun Gorilla and the Legion volume of X-Men Legacy, is no stranger to high-concept ideas.
This issue begins to reveal the potential of this series. We’ve seen people’s gods used in a few different ways, but here we start to see how this whole world relies heavily on their divine sidekicks. Everything from transportation to speaker systems are powered by people’s personal gods. This is integrated into character’s professions, home life and even their social standing. There’s some interesting “metaphorical’ work being done here by Spurrier, showing how the growth and dissolution of someone’s deity can be affected by financial, religious or occupational developments in their lives. As deep as that can be, it works well on a visual level too, seeing the gods doing even the most menial tasks for their worshippers, not unlike the animals in old Flintstones cartoons.
Up until this point Ennay has mostly just been traveling, looking for his next opportunity, but now trouble has caught up to him. We’re introduced to the criminal, Mr. Benotti, that our heroes have been running from, and see a new way he interacts with his god. We also get a striking single page glimpse into the Bud’s compelling origin.
I could gush about Goonface’s art, but you really need to see it to appreciate. He combines a varied palette, utilizing nearly every color, with a playful art style to keep things light. It ends up having a children’s storybook quality to it, even simplifying to a comic strip style in some panels. The character acting is expressive and comedic, truly making you feel for Ennay and the rest of the cast.
Boom Studios! has an incredibly unique book in Godshaper. Besides a great original concept, the all-around presentation of this book sucks you right into this world of personal deities. This issue digs a bit deeper into our main characters, Ennay and Bud’s backstory, and the world is turned on it’s head with a last page reveal. This book was suggested to me, and I’m passing that right along to you. You’d be missing out on something special if you don’t check this title out.
Overall: 9/10
New England born and raised, it didn’t take long for Adam Kubert’s “Wolverine” covers, early 90’s Image Comics and Marvel trading card sets to infect my brain. Consuming all things comic, video game, and cartoon-related, I’ve always had the drive to create worlds of my own, becoming a digital designer, a music producer/performer and a flourishing writer. Some of my earlier work can be found at smartassortments.com
