The Tithe starts off with a bang- literally, with an explosion outside a church that has just been robbed! Creative team Matt Hawkins and Rahsan Ekedal have constructed a heist thriller that grabs the audience from start to each cliffhanger finish. Hawkins credits his own experience with Christianity as inspiration for the story, which deals with the complexities of faith as well as the moral gray area around doing wrong to people who are abusing their position.
An upstart hacker group calling themselves “Samaritan” has been breaking into so-called “megachurches”, run by televangelists who were already under investigation by the FBI for fraud. Agents Dwayne Campbell and Jimmy Miller follow doggedly in the activists’ footsteps, trying to find some way to get ahead.
Campbell is a devout Baptist who, despite a difficult childhood and a stoic demeanor, really does want to see the best in people. Miller, on the other hand, is an atheist, and can’t help but stick up for Samaritan, who has been sending their ill-gotten gains to charities, Robin-Hood-style. In the first two issues, their oppositional dynamic is well established.
However, although Hawkins states in his notes that they have an almost father-son relationship, in these first two issues, they don’t appear to be all that close. It is revealed that Samaritan got the list of churches under investigation by stealing Miller’s laptop, so the reason for the distant feeling may be a result.
Ekedal’s artwork is incredibly detailed and creates beautiful tension during the heists and especially during the simultaneous investigations of the two remaining churches on the list. My one complaint is that for all the expressiveness he gives his characters, Sam (the leader of Samartian) remains almost completely blank. Perhaps this is attempting to convey some guardedness about the character, but for the most part it results in Sam looking completely disinterested in the things going on around her.
Overall, The Tithe is off to a good start, with a suspenseful tale that could go anywhere!
Related posts:
You Might Also Like
