Review -- THE DEVIL'S OWN

The Devil's Own
Art by Brian Beardsley
Written by Pete Mesling

All right, let me preface this by noting I am not a huge fan of EP CDs, as anyone following my music reviews in the paper pages of Yorkton This Week will know.
I am no more a fan of 'Issue 0' editions of new comic titles. Issue 0 books are generally short-form books which are designed to give a taste of a new story to potential fans. Sorry, comic books are a short-form medium when full-length, so when I have only 10 pages to get a feel for a title, I am left wondering just what it is I've read. It's rather difficult to get a 'feel' for a character in 10-pages, at least to knowing whether you like it enough to want to but the next issue.
“With issue #0 of The Devil's Own, we wanted to produce something right away, while the idea was hot, and we didn't yet know the scale of the series, so we did a fairly modest print issue that wouldn't commit us to any one narrow path,” said Mesling. “We also wanted to use it to feel out our working relationship and so forth. It's an integral chapter in the overall story now, as is the follow-up web issue that lives on our site. In fact, those first two short issues have set the tone in a much more significant way than either of us imagined going in. Nothing in this series gets thrown away. It all connects.”
The story here though is interesting enough from the outset that you are quickly drawn into the story.Beardsley's black and white art is expressive, and yet had a touch of cartoon to the strokes that really fits a title which will obviously take on horror with a healthy dose of humour.
Mesling said the germ of the idea for the story came from Beardsley.
“Brian pitched the idea to me of a witch and warlock who are married and spend much of their time battling demons, and he encouraged me to think of the old television series Hart to Hart colliding with Hellboy,” said Mesling. “From there the questions just started to flow. Why would a witch and a warlock be fighting against evil? What kind of balance might be struck between humour and supernatural terror with a premise like this? What kind of settings and characters would it entail? Before long, some answers began to emerge. I suppose Robert Bloch was looking over my shoulder as I wrote much of the first story arc. Maybe we've ended up with something like two parts Norman Bates to one part Lefty Feep.”
The suggestion of Hart to Hart and Hellboy influencing the storyline is quite appropriate, since there is a definite taste of humour, and fun supernatural overtones to the storyline.In terms of the book, Mesling said he and Beardsley have meshed well on the book.
“Brian and I were put in touch by a mutual friend,” said Mesling. “It's really a lucky thing the way we fell into sync. Brian has such a passion for, and understanding of, comics, and I come from a mostly literary -- especially horror -- background. It's been a really good fit that I wouldn't know how to begin to duplicate. We're fortunate to be able to meet in person every other week, and it's always a thrill to see how Brian goes about capturing in images what I've written.”
Beardsley said he found the book easy to get into in terms of art because he was in the loop from the beginning.
It was “easy, since I was already here and I was apart of the creation process,” he said. “For me it was making sure I bring enough experience and really push myself to bring quality and good storytelling abilities with hopefully enough talent to bring the story and the characters to life. I want this to be something that will make a mainstream comic publisher turn his head twice and see the potential in the work and the story.”
Overall, The Devil's Own is a story that catches your attention, and leaves you wanting to learn more about the unusual couple, Dominic and Claudia Hechs. Nicely done.You can learn more about the title at HTTP://www.facebook.com/l/; http://www.nightrailpress.com

-- CALVIN DANIELS

-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra