Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writers: Kurt Sutter & Caitlin Kittredge
Artist: Jesus Hervas
Colourist: Adam Metcalfe
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Price: $3.99

HE KILLED HIS DOG! Sorry, shouldn’t open with a spoiler like that but if you want a reason to hate those brimstones baked Hellspawn that’s a good enough reason for me! Burnt out types who turn demon hunters are a dime a dozen: Ghost Rider, Son of Satan etc. and the newest recruit to their ranks, Lucas Stand is going to have to go some to “stand” out from the crowd.

Of course, he comes courtesy of Kurt Sutter, best known for TV work on The Shield and Sons of Anarchy. Lucas Stand #1 has all the hallmarks of Sutter’s TV pedigree and like any opening episode, it’s mainly an origin story. Lucas Stand is a war vet who can’t cope with being back home so he does something irrevocable that gets him recruited by Lucifer to capture escaped demons who are upsetting the balance of evil.

So far, so Brimstone, that much loved and much missed short-lived TV series starring Peter Horton and the wonderful John Glover. The added time travel element gives Lucas the ability to track down the little devils in any era they end up in gives Lucas Stand #1 an added twist that sees him go back to World War II and will no doubt be much used over the next five issues.

Will that be enough to make Lucas Stand #1 a long-running success? Well, Lucas is a pretty likeable guy in a gnarled, drug-addled, violent, borderline psychotic sort of way and you can certainly empathise with his bewilderment at finding himself in this situation. As openings go, I found this a little bit slow which is often the case when someone with TV sensibilities jumps ship to the comic book format; the action would have been much quicker on the screen, but there are enough good elements in Lucas Stand #1 to make it worthwhile sticking around for the next five issues.

 

 

Reviewer: Gary Orchard
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker