I've been having trouble actually writing up a review for this one. This is actually my third attempt. I always have a great deal of trouble with certain comics and getting a flow and writing about them and I think I've figured out why.
Certain comics inspire very strong reactions from me either good or bad. If I really like a comic, the words will come very easily and I'll get ideas for nice metaphors and verbal flourishes. Likewise, if I absolutely hate a comic, I go straight into full on rant mode and can write pages and pages about how a comic is an insult to myself personally and independent comics in general by even being produced.
But comics where it fails to inspire much from me. Comics where its not particularly bad, just not particularly good either are the ones I really have trouble with, I will find myself at my computer and no words will be coming.
This is one such comic, unfortunately. It's not to my particular taste, but then I don't hate it either. Hence the reason why my column has been delayed the last couple of weeks. (Well, that and the fact that I am insanely busy at the day job at the moment).
Anyway, to try to make the best of it, I'll try and give you my opinions on it, anyway.
Pest Control is another quirky superhero comic from that bunch of lovers of quirky superheroes over at Ominous Comics. It reprises the formula used in the O-Men, in that each of the characters have problems, quirks and/or issues, ranging from laziness to downright psychosis.
Unfortunately, I don't think it pulls it off as well as O-Men did. In O-Men, I felt I could have a certain amount of sympathy for at least some of the characters, however, in Pest Control, none of the characters particularly inspire me to like them. I think they've gone too far with the idea of the flawed superhero and many of the main heroes are total nutters, which, although refreshing, doesn't make for brilliant amounts of identification with said characters.
Add to that the fact that it doesn't seem quite as well visualised as it should be. There are times where it is difficult to work out what the hell is happening. It may make sense in the writers mind, but the point is that the average reader should never be confused as to what is happening. I'm not a stupid person - in my day job I program database driven web applications and make use of various quite hard core programming language, in addition to which I program games and applications in my spare time. I write, I draw, I create 3D models and I appreciate art, poetry and literature. I think this all qualifies me to say that its not my fault if I don't understand this comics.
It, therefore, follows that the blame must clearly be placed at the hands on the creators of the comic. If I, or any reasonably intelligent reader cannot pick this comic up, read it and understand it, then clearly there is a problem with how they are bringing their many great ideas to the page (regardless of what the sycophants at Comic International say on the back cover of the first book).
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