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A review by billyjepma
Behold, Behemoth by Tate Brombal
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This gets off to an ~incredible start~, with one of the best first issues I’ve read in a minute and an equally strong follow-up full of fascinating lore and big, lofty ideas. From there, though, the story starts to slip into a more derivative territory and loses the intrigue amongst larger world-building and the introduction of some generic antagonistic forces. If this were an ongoing series, I’d be far more willing to accept those extra pieces, but as the five-issue miniseries it currently is, it’s harder to ignore. Brombal’s dialogue is good, but he goes too big for the space he has to work in. The fact that the last issue sprints toward a conclusion doesn’t help things, as the story ends on a sudden and semi-unearned note. There’s potential for more to come, and I hope there is, because I do love a lot of what the comic is doing, and it would be unfortunate if this is where and how things end. There’s too much potential here for it to be a one-and-done miniseries, especially considering its potential to become a proper series in the vein of something Robert Kirkman would put out.
Now, with all that said, this still gets my enthusiastic recommendation for the quality of the artwork alone. Robles’ illustrations are stunning—impressive colors, fantastic scale, memorable designs, and haunting imagery that will stick with me. Some of the action can get a little hard to track, but I also appreciate the approach he takes with it, as it gives you a few snapshots of what’s happening and lets you fill in the rest. It’s not my favorite approach to comic book action, but it works here, especially considering how much ground every page has to cover. I’m giving this a solid 3.5 stars, and I’ll round up to a 4 because I really hope we get a follow-up.
Now, with all that said, this still gets my enthusiastic recommendation for the quality of the artwork alone. Robles’ illustrations are stunning—impressive colors, fantastic scale, memorable designs, and haunting imagery that will stick with me. Some of the action can get a little hard to track, but I also appreciate the approach he takes with it, as it gives you a few snapshots of what’s happening and lets you fill in the rest. It’s not my favorite approach to comic book action, but it works here, especially considering how much ground every page has to cover. I’m giving this a solid 3.5 stars, and I’ll round up to a 4 because I really hope we get a follow-up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death and Animal death