Miniature Jesus #1
A recovering alcoholic battles his personal demons and a small-town Pastor watches as the Jesus on his mounted crucifix comes to life and unhinges itself from the cross. Check into Ted McKeever’s hotel of the weird & the disturbed, you’ll never leave.
When I first glanced my peepers on the cover, I was more curious than excited. I wondered what McKeever’s been up to lately. As usual, it’s a very gloomy, bleak, but beautiful black & white look at demons & strange occurrences with flawed characters looking for redemption. There are 2 simultaneous trippy stories which will probably interconnect in later issues or they might not, with McKeever you just never know. A recovering alcoholic named Chomsky (Noam?) who battles his personal demons in the form of a rotting cat corpse and a little teeth gnashing demon manifesting itself on his shoulder, but no angel on his other shoulder. The other story involves an over the top Pastor preaching his sermon to a practically empty church, except for a little boy who notices that the Jesus on the cross has come to life. I’ll let that sink in.
Some interesting and humorous dialogue occurs like a gas bar called The Pudding Licker (lol) or the mention of Ninkasi, Egyptian goddess of alcohol and beer. On line it says she’s a Sumerian goddess, but then again this is Wikipedia. Or when the demon asks Chomsky why he doesn’t have time for him or old acquaintances, his reply is “I already gave at the orifice”.
One thing that really struck me was how much McKeever’s illustrations have evolved dramatically since his earlier work. Like Bill Sienkiewicz or Richard Corben, his was an interesting style that was different, original and totally his own, never duplicated. I could spot a drawing from his work and immediately know it was from him. Not to criticize his work on Metropol or Plastic Forks, but I much prefer this new style of his. It’s darker, creepier and with the perfect amount of shadows, the characters faces have more personality to them. You could almost smell the stench of the rotting cat, as he stares at Chomsky with those empty black ocular cavities.
The Team
Created, written, illustrated & lettered by Ted McKeever (Metropol, Plastic Forks). #1 of 5 published by Image Comics.The Pros & Cons
I’ve always respected Ted McKeever’s work, even though I never really got into his comics or even understood them for that matter. Back in the 90’s when super hero comics were the norm, McKeever always marched to the beat of a different drum, you gotta respect that. I vaguely remember Metropol, I remember enjoying Plastic Forks for what it was and I purchased The Extremist #1, but thought it was way too bizarre for my taste. These days my appreciation for more mature and stranger comics has changed over the years, stuff like Ragemoor, Colder & The Coffin delve into the fantastic & the eerie that left quite an impression on me.When I first glanced my peepers on the cover, I was more curious than excited. I wondered what McKeever’s been up to lately. As usual, it’s a very gloomy, bleak, but beautiful black & white look at demons & strange occurrences with flawed characters looking for redemption. There are 2 simultaneous trippy stories which will probably interconnect in later issues or they might not, with McKeever you just never know. A recovering alcoholic named Chomsky (Noam?) who battles his personal demons in the form of a rotting cat corpse and a little teeth gnashing demon manifesting itself on his shoulder, but no angel on his other shoulder. The other story involves an over the top Pastor preaching his sermon to a practically empty church, except for a little boy who notices that the Jesus on the cross has come to life. I’ll let that sink in.
Some interesting and humorous dialogue occurs like a gas bar called The Pudding Licker (lol) or the mention of Ninkasi, Egyptian goddess of alcohol and beer. On line it says she’s a Sumerian goddess, but then again this is Wikipedia. Or when the demon asks Chomsky why he doesn’t have time for him or old acquaintances, his reply is “I already gave at the orifice”.
One thing that really struck me was how much McKeever’s illustrations have evolved dramatically since his earlier work. Like Bill Sienkiewicz or Richard Corben, his was an interesting style that was different, original and totally his own, never duplicated. I could spot a drawing from his work and immediately know it was from him. Not to criticize his work on Metropol or Plastic Forks, but I much prefer this new style of his. It’s darker, creepier and with the perfect amount of shadows, the characters faces have more personality to them. You could almost smell the stench of the rotting cat, as he stares at Chomsky with those empty black ocular cavities.
The Outcome
This first issue won’t be the average comic book reader’s usual cup of tea, but I was completely enthralled with it, rotting cat and all. It’s twisted, it’s weird, it’s gross, but it caught my eye and hopefully it will catch yours as well.A Look Inside
