Review Saint Chaos #1

Noah Dorsey might be best known at this point for co-creating Image’s Non-Humans, but he’s seeking to tell yet another story. Teaming up with Zsombor Huszka, Dorsey is bringing the story of Saint Chaos to comics. Through self-publishing and teaming up with local comic shops, Dorsey hopes to make his comic something different.

Simon Monroe is done with living. His girlfriend caught herpes after cheating on him, he got kicked out of college and lost his job after a coworker spiked his coffee with cocaine, his cat committed suicide, and to make it even worse, his mom was killed during a botched robbery. With all this, Simon is done with living, and his wish kind of gets granted when the serial killer known as Honeycomb kidnaps him from the local park with the intent to torture and kill Simon. But, when Honeycomb finds out about Simon’s suffering, he makes a deal. Simon gets four more days, and after those four days, Honeycomb will kill him. He doesn’t say when, where, or how, just in four days. With his death set, Simon goes about helping all the people that the city ignores in a violent, almost suicidal bender. Thus, Saint Chaos is born.

Dorsey is still somewhat new to writing comics, having more experience in TV and film scripting, and it shows. Note, this isn’t a bad thing, it’s just unusual. Even with a few kinks that need to be worked out in time, Dorsey’s dialogue and pacing is pretty good. The way the book reads, with heavy narration is much like a film script, but it works for Saint Chaos. The book is heavily within the thoughts and mind of Simon, making the narration and thoughts crucial to the story. The idea is what shines, though. A man suicidal becomes free when marked for death. Knowing he will die soon, he actually starts living. And this isn’t a god-like alien or a billionaire ninja, but a normal guy who can easily be beat up or injured. This is what makes Simon and Saint Chaos different. It’s not a superhero story, but as Dorsey puts it, a “crime noir”.

Huszka’s art is perfect for the book. While it’s primarily black and white, it uses the dashes of color to masterfully accentuate the action and mood of the pages. Huszka’s portrayal of Honeycomb is wonderfully creepy and strange, definitely emitting that “serial killer” vibe. With the type of story it is, it’s a rather graphic set of visuals, but it seems Huszka isn’t afraid to let a bit of horror into the pages. The panel structure is also unique, giving a different flow to the overall story and helping to frame certain events within the pages.

While it’s not perfect, Saint Chaos is an extremely solid book. With an interesting concept and a unique approach both from writer and artist, Saint Chaos is something different. And that’s exactly what Noah Dorsey was looking to make with the book. The first issue of Saint Chaos can currently be preorded here.

Related posts: