Sunday Splash Page #318

 

"Bugs' Hunt" in Locust: The Ballad of Men #3, by Massimo Rosi (writer), Alex Nieto (artist), Mattia Gentili (letterer)

Locust was originally solicited as an 8-issue mini-series, but for one reason or the other, it was split into two 4-issue minis instead. Ballad of Men picks up where the previous mini-series left off, following Max through the past and the present.

In the past, Max escaped Ford with Stella in tow, and we see him try to care for this little girl as they gradually escape New York City and travel into the wilderness. They camp out and he makes her pancakes, and Stella generally enjoys the whole experience. It's telling about what her life in Ford's hands was like that camping out in the winter and having someone make pancakes for her counts as a spectacular experience. Except Ford has never stopped hunting them, and eventually catches up.

In the present, Max and a young prisoner/devotee of Ford's he rescued for information on how to get into Ford's base end up captured by a different group of heavily-armed, unhappy people. Ford killed some of theirs, and while Max had nothing to do with it, he did happen to take a laptop belonging to one of the victims, which makes him suspect. But Ford, having already devolved into religious lunacy by the time he recaptured Stella, is making his grand statement, and there's no time for any other concerns.

Nieto keeps the colors dim and murky again, but it serves the story. For three-plus issues, any time we see light, it's a bad thing. It's the headlights of Ford's trucks as he catches up with Max and Stella. It's New York City, on fire because of Max's lunacy, driving the locusts out to swarm the humans who fled to survive. It's torches in some creepy underground ritual altar in Ford's new base, where he thinks he's going to make things right with God by killing Stella.

Only in the last few pages does he switch to a soft blue, as Max and Stella sail towards Iceland. It's still a washed-out hue, because this is no great, cheerful triumph. They haven't truly escaped whatever's come over the world, but they each found someone to care for and to be cared for them. The ending's also a bit of a role reversal from Rosi's Red Leaves, in that the child changes rather than the adult, but still retains some part of themselves, at least for now.

Sunday Splash Page #317

 

"Bug Hunt", in Locust #2, by Massimo Rosi (writer), Alex Nieto (artist), Mattia Gentili (letterer)

Set in the aftermath of some strange plague or apocalypse where people appear to be spontaneously turning into giant locusts, Locust follows a man named Max through two different time periods.

In the present, he's hunting for a girl named Stella. Stella's been taken by a man named Ford, so Max moves through a dark, largely empty landscape, following a trail of Ford's followers and encampments. Nieto covers everything in extremely dark, murky colors, to the point it's hard to tell what's happening sometimes. That's OK, because most of what's happening is best categorized as, "not good." Child sacrifice, people in heavy robes talking about divine punishment, that sort of thing.

In the past, we see Max and his mother during the early days of whatever is going on. Max is trying to get them to safety, but finding it difficult. Fortunately, they're rescued after a car wreck by a man named Ford. Ford seems organized, disciplined, with a large group of well-armed people ready and willing to follow his commands. I see no possible way that could end with child endangerment!

The scenes in the past have a more varied color scheme. Still murky, but there's the reds of the taillights, the orange of fires burning in the chaos. The former police station where Ford's established his base is tinted a dull, sickly green. Not sure what kind of lighting they're using for that, but I guess you use what you've got in an apocalypse.

It makes sense. The scenes in the past, society is just starting its descent. There's still life and struggle and all that. The scenes in the present, the world has more or less settled into what's passing for normal. The locusts aren't going away, aren't being cured. People are hiding in the remains of what came before, but they aren't building anything back up. It's like a dying star, down to a few faint, flickering embers.

As you can see, Nieto adopts a variety of body styles for the afflicted. I never noticed any pattern to what sort of appearance a given person took after the transformation, but there may be one. Or they may just be at different stages, with that big winged one being the final form. There's a fair amount of body horror, panels focused on people peeling their skin away, revealing compound eyes and exoskeletons, or the giant locusts tearing flesh away from a victim's face. The latter sort of thing usually isn't as focused on as the transformations. The death is an end state, while the transformation signals a new problem to deal with. A stranger, or even someone Max knew well, that's become a threat just like that.

What I Bought 12/3/2022 - Part 1

Felt so exhausted yesterday. Thought I slept well, woke up and was immediately disabused of that notion. Usually takes until the back half of the work week to feel like that. Don't know if it's the lack of sunlight setting in, workload, or some other shit. At this stage, being turned into a vampire or even a locust creature might be an improvement. Not sure about being dead at the bottom of a cliff in Scotland, though.

Locust: Ballad of Men #4, by Massimo Rosi (writer), Alex Nieto (artist), Mattia Gentili (letterer) - Little did they know, that ship was actual the ghost of the ship from Jaws.

The locusts swarm out of the fires of NYC and attack the camp of the people holding Max. Max wisely uses this opportunity to take off, and Alice, the woman he found a couple of issues ago guides him into Ford's base before turning into a locust herself and attacking Ford's followers. Then the rest of the locusts attack the base as well, to the apparent shock of Ford and his guys.

Max finds Stella, just as Ford, well on his way to fully transforming, finds Max. They fight, with Max taking some damage, although the colors are so murky it's not always easy to see, while Ford rambles about being punished by God for his sins. Max and Stella make it out, make it north, but Stella is slowly changing as well. Max keeps her with him right to the end, and the tones do lighten up a bit, or at least they're outside during daytime, so everything is tinged grey-blue instead black.

It's a sad ending, but the way Rosi writes most of the characters, it feels like what they deserve. Ford is sure that he's changing because he's failed to carry out God's will, but of course, it's other people who have to die to fix things. Rosa and her group, having lost a lot of people to the locust attack, decides the best thing to do is go attack Ford's base and kill them all. Maybe that's the right call, because they don't know Max killed Ford, and so they expect Ford will keep hunting them, but it reeks of self-destruction. Your numbers are already reduced, so go pick another fight and get more of your people killed.

In contrast, Max has never been focused on killing. He's certainly killed, but his goal was always to get to safety with a person her cared about. First his mother, then Stella. When Ford's dead, and Stella's with Max, he leaves. There are a bunch of guy in creepy red Klan hoods standing there, and he doesn't take revenge, doesn't even harm them (I'm less clear on why they let he and Stella go, however). If one were inclined to think there was a purposeful mind behind the transformations, that might be the difference. Although it wouldn't explain why Stella changed, so maybe Max has just been lucky somehow. He isn't thinking he can stop anything, he's just trying to do something good for a kid while he has the chance.

She Bites #2, by Hedwig Hale (writer), Alberto Hernandez R. (artist), Dave Lanphear (letterer) - Where they're going, they don't need helmets. Because why would you have a helmet at the mall?

Brenda, convinced by the lure of $350/hour to babysit a century-and-a-half old vampire, takes Elsie to the mall. Where they explore such '90s things as CDs and Hot Topic (or a slightly altered equivalent). Brenda keeps trying to make conversation, seemingly very interested in Elsie and her life, but is repeatedly rebuffed. Brenda does share her plan to use the money from this gig to fly to Scotland and throw herself off a cliff, and Elsie doesn't entirely crap on the notion.

Brenda has a couple of run-ins with a long-running bully, and the second time around, takes Elsie's advice and tells her off. That whole sequence also explains at least part of why Brenda is depressed. It's also the only scene where Hernandez draws Brenda in a somewhat aggressive posture. She walks away with her back straight (and middle finger extended), and when she's yelling, she's leaning in and jabbing her finger at Amber. Throughout the rest of the issue, Brenda's hunched over, like she's waiting to be hit. Even when she's trying to connect with Elsie in the music store, she has a wary, beaten-down posture. 

Amber is angry enough to follow her into the changing room and start shouting threats, so Elsie kills her. Both issues now have ended with Elsie in front of a mirror, so it appears someone is interacting with nothing. It was Brenda shaking her hand in issue 1, and it's Amber's corpse being held up by Elsie here. Although Elsie does appear in photographs, as they use one of those mall photo booths during their fun montage.

I feel like some of Elsie's cursing is over-the-top, like Hale really likes the idea of having what appears to be a child call people twats, but Hale also makes it clear Elsie likes getting a reaction. So part of it meant to be performative on her part. I do enjoy some of her interactions with Brenda, the sarcastic comments that seem playful. Hernandez can show with posture and expressions when Elsie is actually angry or annoyed, so it's clear when she's just messing with Brenda and when she isn't.

I'm curious to see how this is going to end. It's hard for me to picture Brenda's troubles being solved by this one night with Elsie, but it doesn't feel like a story that will end with them parting ways so Brenda can buy that plane ticket to Scotland, either.

What I Bought 10/29/2022 - Part 1

All right, we got the rest of the comics from October to go through, starting with two issues of one mini-series. I cannot figure out Scout Comics' publishing schedule. One big goes MIA for two months, while this one ships twice in three weeks.

Locust Ballad of Men #2 and 3, by Massimo Rosi (writer), Alex Nieto (artist), Mattia Gentili (letterer) - That certainly doesn't seem like a good place to be wandering around in.

Rosi continues the approach he's maintained throughout of skipping back-and-forth between the past (Max and Stella's attempt to escape Ford) and present (Max's attempt to rescue Stella from Ford). In the past, Max sneaks into a shopping mall the locusts have turned into some sort of nest in search of milk to make pancakes with. And probably some other food, too. This narrowly works out, except for the pregnant lady Max sees suspended in the goop and slowly mutating. Nieto gives us a panel where you can see the fetus is already a locust which, yeah, I didn't need to see that.

At least Stella enjoyed the pancakes, but Ford and his guys track them down and retake Stella. This establishes Ford and his men are already showing signs of changing, as Nieto draws most of them at various stages of metamorphosis. Ford, for example, has developed a mess of eyes where his right eye used to be. Other guys are beginning to develop mandibles. It seems weird this process could have begun a year ago, yet Ford still looks mostly human in the scenes in the present.

In the present, it turns out the people who captured Max are the people who were working with the scientists he saw get killed in the past. The fact he's carrying the scientist's laptop doesn't make them like Max very much. Nor are they inclined to help him rescue Stella. They're more interested in how the young woman Max rescued/captured could help them infiltrate Ford's base, presumably to kill him. This may be a moot point, as the missiles Ford launched into NYC have started fires which are driving the locusts out.

That seems like a lot left to resolve with only one issue, but there shouldn't be any more need for flashbacks at this point. We've seen how Max lost Stella, and enough of their interactions (and enough of Ford) to understand why Max wants to try and get her back. Although I wonder if Rosi isn't writing Stella as too sweet and cheerful. Feel like a kid would complain about all the walking at some point, but maybe the point is life with Ford was so awful, even tromping through the ruins of civilization is a major improvement. Ford has guns and made the men believe they're the chosen, he didn't have to be kind to anyone else, like kids. Fingers crossed he dies horribly!

Fingers crossed we can even see it if he does. Nieto's coloring is just so dark and murky. I thought the first issue lightened up, but everything in this is colored like we're seeing through the haze from a distant forest fire or something.

What I Bought 9/3/2022 - Part 2

Moving right along, we have the penultimate issue of one mini-series, and the penultimate quartile of another series. If you count the two Locust series as one big, 8-issue mini, then the fifth issue is. . .you know what? I don't have to justify this to you. Let's just get on with it.

Locust: Ballad of Men #1, by Massimo Rosi (writer), Alex Nieto (artist), Mattia Gentili (letterer) - Like a hideously mutated bug-man to flame.

In the past, Max and Stella explore a shopping mall right after Ford's men kill a bunch of scientists that were trying to broadcast a message about what's happening. That's pretty grim, and the color scheme is still a washed out grey, but Stella is very excited about getting to eat a can of corned beef and ride one of the little rocket ship things outside the arcade. I don't know whether it's sweet she can find joy in the midst of this, or sad these sorts of things qualify as a great day for her.

In the present, Max and the cultist he caught previously are attacked by a bunch of the locusts. They survive, though Max gets chomped on, but made too much noise and are discovered by the guy Max wanted to avoid. Who looks a lot like one of the guys that got killed in the sequence in the past. Not sure if that's just a coincidence on Nieto's part, or if that person actually survived. Because Max seems to know them, and we haven't seen that meeting yet.

Then Ford launches some nukes at NYC from the Army base he's taken over, because he's determined to rebuild this world the way he thinks it should be. Which is an interesting escalation. I'm guessing that will serve as a backdrop to the remainder of the story, as Max continues trying to rescue Stella.

While the color scheme is still oppressively drab, it does feel like Nieto pulled back on it a bit in the interests of clarity. Not as many sequences where I feel like I'm squinting through fog trying to tell what's going on. Also seems like the blacks are more solid, pronounced than they were in the first mini-series. Maybe that owes to the lightening of the colors overall, but it helps. It makes the contrast of the shadows, makes them stand out more. Better effect.

A Calculated Man #3, by Paul Tobin (writer), Alberto Alburquerque (artist), Mark Englert (colorist), Taylor Esposito (letterer) - It all adds up to trouble. Don't groan at me!

Most of this issue is Jack's war against the Keys. He meets with the feds long enough to explain what he's doing, and basically assure them they can't stop him. Meanwhile, the mob boss tries to tell his men to act differently than normal to avoid falling into Jack's traps. This apparently fails utterly as Tobin has firmly planted Jack in the same realm as the seemingly omniscient serial killers in horror movies. 

He lets 3 guys spot him leaving a store, they start to chase, but two of them stop, because obviously they are being fooled. They retreat to their car, the third guy keeps going across the rooftops in what is a fairly entertaining chase as Alburquerque makes it more than just two guys running. Lots of leaping across gaps, or having to lunge for a higher ledge. Adds in some interesting bits for what people get up to on rooftops. 

Anyway, Dumbass 1 catches up to Jack, but steps on a pressure plate, triggering a shotgun to blow his head off at the exact same time Jack is using a sniper rifle to kill the two guys in the car because they're taking the route he knew they would take. Jack even went to the trouble of dressing in a casual guy jogging suit to complete the, "oh crap, you have taken my by surprise!" effect.

Maybe I should have expected this, but it was easier when Jack was ambushing one or two guys in a drug lab before they could know what was hitting them. This level of planning and foresight is severely straining my suspension of disbelief, even if watching the Keys' boss come up with increasingly ludicrous suggestions of how they could be unpredictable is funny. I actually think the "distribute fliers like he's a missing person" suggestion has merit. Or the "hire a circus to kill him" idea.

Through it all, Jack is really only concerned about his relationship with Vera, and the fact he's gotta tell her the truth eventually. I don't know how Tobin is going to play that. Is Vera actually a plant by the Keys? Will she freak out and leave Jack broken-hearted and ready to be arrested/executed? Will she think him actually killing people is really hot and decide to join him, like that movie with Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick, Mr. Right?

What I Bought 10/30/2021 - Part 1

Well, I was able to get everything I still needed from October, plus one book from September I was still after. Which unfortunately only added up to three comics. Whoo. Also, I'm typing this at 4 in the morning on Sunday, so this could get loopy. Or not. Hard to tell.

Locust #3, by Massimo Rosi (writer), Alex Nieto (artist), Mattia Gentili (letterer) - Yeah, it's better if nobody sees what's on that bed.

In the present, Max fended off at least some of the locusts. Enough to have time to demand Ford's people tell him where the kid is. In the past, we see Ford trying to sell Max on staying with them, but mostly just revealing that he's kind of a nut. Max has no intention of staying, if for no other reason than his mom wants out, but then he hears drums in the basement, and comes across Ford leading a bunch of people dressed like it's a Klan rally.

Ford figures all the locusts were sinners, and God is telling the faithful to make sacrifice to bring an end to this. Ford is ready to sacrifice his own daughter. Who he conceived with his own sister a few years ago. That would be the child Max was trying to escape with in the flashbacks in issue 4, the one he's presumably trying to recover in the present. As for his mother, well, Max' descent into the basement didn't go unnoticed, and some devoted acolyte decided to show Max the penalty for his actions. Lovely people. Really makes you wish for an Old Testament God. One who didn't fuck around, and just unleashed some cataclysm that killed everyone quickly.

So this issue does nothing to answer my question of who the person was at the head of the convoy at the end of issue 4. Which I guess means we'll find out about that whenever this series picks back up again. There hasn't been a solicit for issue 5 through January, at least.

The whole sequence where Max is fighting the locusts in the present is colored in relatively bright reds. Not too bright, but enough it stands out against the rest of the comic. Especially the quiet parts of the flashback, before Max heads into the basement. Those parts are given a flat grey shade to everything. Dull and faded, like a distant memory maybe. The basement sequence gradually gets more and more orange to it, but it's like what I said about the coloring of light in my review of issue 4. It doesn't really seem to reach anything. Everything else just stays pretty much the same shade or color. Then the reds come back at the very end of the issue. Not surprising, given the level of violence.

Moon Knight #4, by Jed MacKay (writer), Alessandro Cappuccio (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Cory Petit (letterer) - Must be fighting Gypsy Moth.

The mysterious person who's been watching Moon Knight comes up with another test. He gets someone to steal Moon Knight (or Steven Grant's) money, and threaten to make it vanish if Moon Knight doesn't do as he says. The first order was to beat the hell out of Jigsaw, so Moonie went along with that. But Reese figured out what general area the guy was hiding in, and Tigra just so happened to come visit Marc, so she can take it the rest of the way. Another hurdle cleared.

The other part of the issue is everyone (meaning Tigra and his doctor, and I guess Jigsaw) ask why he's wearing the mask. The doctor, in terms of what significance it has. Tigra, in terms of why he won't take it off. Jigsaw just thinks he's funny. I guess with a face like that you need a sense of humor. Marc gives different answers. That it's a sign of who he is, a vestment of sorts. Or that it's to protect his friends. (He doesn't give Jigsaw an answer. Unless a beating counts.) He does finally give Tigra what I assume passes for the real answer, at the end. It's a good enough answer, seems like it can fit with the character.

Typically, when Moon Knight's in the caped look (as opposed to Mr. Knight with the suit) Cappuccio gives him eyes that glare. But there's one panel, during the end conversation with Tigra, where he manages to make them look sad. Which is unusual enough it stood out instantly, even though there's nothing else remarkable about the panel.

Also interesting how much of the Moon Knight outfit Rosenberg colors black, versus the Mr. Knight look. In this issue, that could be explained by the latter being worn in daytime scenes, the former at night, but I think it holds across most of the issues. He was Mr. Knight in issue 2, when he confronted the janitor with the weird sweat at night, and the outfit was pretty much always all white. I don't know the significance of that. Two sides of the Moon, light and dark, obviously, but as far as his personality, not sure.

What I Bought 10/4/2021 - Part 3

The comic I was hoping to find on Friday was the third issue of Locust. Unfortunately, the owner of the store I was planning to visit got banged up in a fall and couldn't open the store, according to the note on the door. I preferred when they were just closed because the parking lot was being repaved. We'll make do with what we've got.

Locust #4, by Massimo Rosi (writer), Alex Nieto (artist), Mattia Gentili (letterer) - Nice to see New Yorkers maintaining their typical level of hospitality.

In the past, Max tries to escape Ford's men with the one kid he rescued. Gets shot in the leg, falls off the roof (with the kid) into a river. But they lived, obviously, and made it as far as Max' boat.

In the present day, Max was not killed by all the giant locusts that one guy was going to release at the end of issue 2. Not at all sure why, but he escaped, with one of Ford's teenage followers, who might take him to Ford. Or might not. While they stop over in an abandoned house for the night, a different group of armed people Max recognizes and I don't roar by on trucks on motorcycles. Looks like Max may have stolen something from them, and whatever it is gives off some sort of proximity or homing signal. Question is whether he pissed them off enough they'll take time out from whatever they're doing to hunt him down and retrieve it.

I'm not sure the switching back-and-forth between past and present is working. The end result is that it doesn't feel like either thread really gets anywhere. I'm not sure Rosi can stop now, though. Not until the flashbacks catch up to where we started. Maybe that won't take the full eight issues. 

My problems could just be from the absence of the third issue. I don't know what happened there, so I don't know why it feels like the present day part of issue 4 starts up more or less where it left off in issue 2. I'm left with that feeling of a plot running in place.

Even by the standards of this series, this issue's coloring is very dark and murky. Pretty much the only break from endless grey and black backdrops are the panels when someone is either shooting or being shot. Just brief instants among relentless dark. Even when there's light it barely illuminates anything. Max and his "guide" are sitting around the campfire, but their faces are still overwhelmingly shadowed. There's nothing good or hopeful here. At least not yet.

What I Bought 7/10/2021 - Part 2

It's too bad this book didn't come out the same week as Midnight Western Theatre #2, so I could have had two comics that involve fighting a bunch of religious loonies in hooded robes.

Locust #2, by Massimo Rosi (writer), Alex Nieto (artist), Mattia Gentili (letterer) - Aw, he's got a big bug buddy!

So, past and present. In the past, Max tries to get himself and his elderly mother out of NYC, but isn't very good at driving with giant bugs on the roof of the car. Fortunately, they get rescued by some helpful, heavily armed folks who turned a police station into an armed compound. Don't worry, though, they describe themselves as 'Good Christians.' Yeah, those two words used in combination have never meant anything positive. Led by the mysterious "Ford" Max is seeking in the present. 

Speaking of the present, Max makes his way to a cabin in the woods, where he finds a lovely little congregation in the basement. All of whom are preparing to kill some kid because if they kill the unclean God will stop the plague or some such shit. It really sounds more like they're a bunch of white supremacist dipshits, but they've also captured some of the locust people to use as weapons? Or perhaps they've somehow converted them to their cause. Otherwise I'm not sure how they were able to mark the little crosses on their foreheads. Anyway, someone set them loose, so now Max has that to deal with.

Nieto gives every location a different sort of color motif. The scenes during the escape from New York are mostly greys and blacks, so that the fires and taillights can stand out more in contrast. So everything is very muddy, but then there's this one streak of something brighter to catch the eye. Even if it's just to highlight how overwhelmingly dark everything is. He kind of does the same with the scenes in the basement, but cuts it down to really just black and red. Makes everything ominous and menacing.

The couple of pages of Max' approach to the cabin are dominated by blues and whites, with the snow and the looming mountains. Initially, there's no sign anything is wrong with the world. He could just be an average hunter or nature enthusiast out and about. It gives it a peaceful air that's shattered when he comes across a couple of mutilated bodies that have been strung up in a tree.

Plotwise, both threads seem to follow the notion of false haven. Max reaches a place that seems promising - either in terms of being safe, or in terms of having the child he seeks - only to find danger lurking instead. The presence of the locusts, but more the people. Ford's the danger in the past, and however they've captured or turned the locusts in the present, it's the people planning to use them for a specific purpose. Big surprise, people are awful.

What I Bought 4/14/2021 - Part 3

It snowed yesterday while I was out in the field. In the middle of April. Lovely. A complication I did not need, to be sure. But whatever, here's a couple of first issues. Well, one is a first issue, the other is a one-shot.

Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk, by Danny Fingeroth, Dan Abnett, Kyle Higgins (writers), Mike Manley, Andrea Di Vito, Juanan Ramirez (artists), Le Beau Underwood (inker for Di Vito), Chris Sotomayor, Sebastian Cheng, Erick Arciniega (colorists), Travis Lanham (letterer) - They didn't have that cover at the store, but it was the one I liked best.

Three stories in this. Fingeroth, Manley, and Sotomayor set one sometime in the first year of Darkhawk's ongoing, where he briefly tries chatting up the daughter of the crimelord he was feuding with for information, then ends up fighting a crooked cop in a super-suit out to kill her. It's fine. Fingeroth works in a lot of angst for Chris about his mother and his little brothers, about trying to do the right thing but really hating Bazin. Sotomayor's coloring makes Manley's artwork look smoother than it did on Darkhawk back in the day. Less heavy on the shading and blacks, bit less of a gritty texture to things. 

Which is interesting. I'm just going off memory but I feel like the title had the look and feel of something closer to a street-level crime book, at least initially. Closer to JRJR on Daredevil than most Spider-Man titles of the time. Which makes sense, given it was mostly about Chris wanting to bring down a particular crime boss, but running into all this other increasingly crazy crap on the way.

The second story, by Abnett and Di Vito is set after Thanos Imperative, with Chris out in space trying to help people. In this case, by killing a bunch of Brood that were trying to set up in a rebuilding settlement. Chris wipes them out, but the locals prove being ungrateful shits isn't exclusive to Earth in the Marvel Universe and complain because the bar got destroyed. Cheng's coloring on the first page looks different from all the others. Almost bright to the point things look washed out. I mostly only noticed because it made Di Vito's work look a bit softer than normal, blunted some of the lines on faces. But it's only on the first page. Otherwise, it looks pretty much as Di Vito's work always does.

 

Higgins and Ramirez wrap things up with a five-part teaser for something. Chris is in the future, getting ready to send back his amulet with all his memories and experiences in the hope someone can stave off the "shadow war" that's about to destroy the universe or something. Oh joy, another one. The common thread between all three stories is Chris trying to figure out who he is. What does being Darkhawk mean to him, what is he wanting to accomplish, and what is he willing to do? I guess by the third story he's figured it out, but it's too late to help.

Locust #1, by Massimo Rosi (writer), Alex Nieto (artist), Mattia Gentili (letterer) - Great, more snow. Can't get away from that stuff.

The story moves back and forth between the present, where a lone man named Max is searching for a child taken by some religious wackjobs, and two years earlier. In the past, he worked on a fishing boat when the first reports of a new disease started to surface. The next time we see the past, he's at his mother's rest home, which has been fortified. But not fortified enough, as one of his childhood friends crawls in, rapidly turning into a giant bug. 

In the present, Max shoots a couple dogs to lure their owner into a trap. Where he dumps some toxic waste on the guy and his remaining dogs, then starts hacking pieces off with a machete to get what he wants. Delightful.

So the first issue sets up a search, as well as the question of how Max got from caring for his mother to seeking this child. I suppose you could add the question of why this happened, but Max feels too far removed from that to find answers. I suspect the "why" doesn't matter much to him, anyway.

 

Nieto's characters all have an aged and well-won look to them. Bags under the eyes, scraggly beards and unkempt hair. The end of civilization doesn't seem to change much for Max in that regard. he might look a little wilder, Nieto might shift perspective to let him loom over someone occasionally, face in shadow, but much the same beyond that. 

The cities, even before the plague, all depicted as dark and quiet. Even the shot of New York City in the past is done from a remove, where the lights on the buildings are so subdued you could easily miss them. Nieto favors overhead shots or long shots, where people are either small or can't be seen at all. It makes everything seem empty, even if it reasonably can't be. Max talks in a flashback about moving his family out of the city, away from the crush and demands, so it seems like he got at least part of his wish. The cities are much quieter now.