Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
After advertising itself as a three-book mini-series, the third ish of Nick (Son O’ Gene) Simmons and Nam Kim’s Incarnate (Radical Comics) has arrived with a big ol’ “To Be Continued” affixed to the bottom of its last story page. Pretty disappointing, especially since the third book is awash with demon/human fight scenes that deliver on the splatter but do little to advance either plot or character. Lots of double- and triple-crosses during the fightin’, but the only figure we halfway care about is the half-shaven demon Connor, who comes across the most fallible of these dueling baddies.
Our anti-hero, the immortal teen (is that a rock ‘n’ roll metaphor or wot?) Mot, spends much of the fight as a giant bat-winged monster: visually interesting but essentially characterless. While we’re given a glimpse of the demon lad’s background torment, it isn’t enough to elevate our interest in the character, who comes across more bratty than anything. Basically, this mini-series is about nasty non-humans battling nearly-as-nasty humans, and while the bloody spectacle has its moments — artist Kim provides lots of appealingly splashy fight panels that owe as much to early Marvel as they do manga fight comics — in the end, Incarnate proves as enduring as flashpot explosives in a heavy metal concert.
