CC2K’s Kickstarter Review: Saint Chaos Vol. One
Written by: Laura Hong-Tuason, CC2K Comics Editor
Simon Monroe has 4 days to live. Though don’t feel too sorry for him. He’s purposely enlisted a psychopath to help him kick the bucket. Now if that’s not twisted and deranged, I don’t know what it is!
Writer: Noah Dorsey
Illustrator: Zsombor Huszka
Before I begin reviewing Saint Chaos: Volume One, I’d like to point out I’ve been reading and reviewing each issue as they come out. You can check out my review of Saint Chaos #1 here. With that said, I’ll be doing a review of the graphic novel as a whole this time, as #4 is the issue that concludes the story arc for volume one.
Simon Monroe is a very depressed and suicidal man. His girlfriend cheated on him, he lost his job, got kicked out of college, and worst of all, his mother was brutally murdered. Tired of his wretched life, but too cowardly to end it himself, he seeks out a psychopath named Honeycomb to do the dirty deed for him.
Honeycomb gives Simon four days to live, with the exception that he won’t know when or how he’ll die. This may sound like a disappointment to Simon, but it’s actually a blessing in disguise. With the day of his death basically squared away, Simon ironically begins to live. With no consequences to his actions except imminent death from here on out, Simon finds a renewed sense of purpose: finding his mother’s killer.
Free to inflict his own chaotic justice without the fear of death, he’s allowed to be bold and reckless while beating up criminals who deserve the beating. Harming himself in the process becomes a minor concern because it matters not whether he dies now during his vengeance-seeking spree, or four days down the line when Honeycomb kills him. To Simon, it’s a win-win situation. At least, that’s what he thinks.
Overall, Saint Chaos is a story about a very complex young man with a perverse set of morals. After all, he seeks to avenge his mother’s death by finding her murderer while allowing another murderer (and a very psychotic one at that) to take his life away in what I can only assume will be a very slow and painful death.
I recommend Saint Chaos to only those who can handle the wildly dark plot and grotesque imagery present in the comic. Honeycomb is piercingly sickening, as well as the other criminals Simon meets along the way. How I can handle some of the stomach churning moments in the story myself is beyond me, but then again, I do enjoy my horror and mystery stories above most genres.
This first volume is made up of four issues. It has good pacing, with each issue giving you enough action and revelation to stay satisfied. Writer Noah Dorsey could have dragged out the mysteries revealed in the story like other writers, but fortunately he does Saint Chaos justice by not doing so. This is a good thing because the plot isn’t just about the mysteries as much as it’s also about the journey Simon takes to figure out his life. Volume 1 tells an interesting story and by the end, it takes a turn that will have you asking what else is in store for our miserable protagonist.
The art by Zsombor Huszka is very original and stylistic. The comic is heavily done in black and white, with an occasional splash of color. Mainly it consists of red hues, which gives the comic a gritty, devilish tone. Though I admit the art is inconsistent in the first two issues, which takes away from the story. One minute you have great chilling images of Honeycomb, and then in the next you have cartoonish lowlifes. Faces amongst some characters are also hard to differentiate, which makes it difficult to connect some plotlines. However, Huszka’s art improves after every issue. His attention to specific details makes the scenes more horrendous, and that’s a good thing.
If I’ve peaked your interest at all, you should check out Dorsey and Huszka’s Kickstarter to publish Saint Chaos: Volume One. As I’ve said, I’ve been reading Saint Chaos issue by issue, but I think having and reading the whole volume makes for a better experience. Everything makes much more sense and ties together well. Help an indie comic out. I know I will.
For more information, follow @thenoahdorsey and @zsomborhuszka on Twitter.