You wanted the best, you got the best! The hottest rock comic in the world…
Written by Paul Cornell
Illustrated by Tony Parker1972: the world’s most famous rock band thought they were “worshiping Satan,” only to find they were actually . . . worshiping Satan.
From Paul Cornell (Wolverine, Action Comics) and Tony Parker (Mass Effect: Foundation) comes a darkly hilarious adventure of black magic and classic rock!
A hilarious documentary-style thrill ride of black magic and rock music!
“Paul Cornell’s ability to introduce us to a character at the beginning of an episode and have us crying for them at the end-for whatever reason-is, in my opinion, unmatched.”-Doctor Who TV
As long as rock n’ roll has been around there has always been accusations of it being a tool of the devil. Stories about Robert Johnson selling his soul at the Crossroads to be a famous guitar player furthered this myth. With this myth Satan himself has become almost as integral as the musicians playing the music. While some musicians dismiss this notion, others embraced this perceived darkness to get more attention on themselves.
“This Damned Band” is more about worshiping Satan for their own personal gain. Paul Cornell waste very little time making this point. The band,”Motherfather”, is in the midst of a world tour with this being the 28th stop on the tour at the legendary Budokan in 1972. Also at this show is a recording session for the documentary about the band. Cornell plays up the This Is Spinal Tap references during this section. Each member is being interviewed and playing their part for the cameras well as a glimpse of the rock star life that has been told for so many years.
To further play up the rock n’ roll live of this is the art by Tony Parker. Parker has done his homework here. As you look at each member of the band they are clearly homages to rock’s greatest musicians. On stage each panel give you the feeling of being live at the show. The different perspectives also gives to the “documentary” nature of the story. There are tight close ups, shots from the crowd and angels at hip level not unlike how you would see in a film. This level of detail propels the behind the scenes peek in of what it is like to be in a huge band.
Cornell doesn’t limit the characters to just the band the wives and girlfriends get an interlude here. While it is not 100% clear as to what they actual do aside from the obvious “groupie” behavior, the ladies set the main plot into gear. What is clear about this is they do have a vested interest in how the band and Satan interact. The same could also be said for the band’s manager Mr. Browley, a fun play on beloved rock Satanist Allister Crowley. He is your typical Hollywood type manager on TV nowadays. He yells a lot and is basically a jerk to anyone who isn’t making him money. It is a cliché for sure but he is actually fun to look at. Kudos to Parker for making him look like slime is dripping off of him. The way Browley is drawn adds some much needed depth to a clichéd part.
There are so many reference to rock’s history it was really fun to look at. As a live long music fan having the Budokan be the setting for this opening issue brought back many memories. Cheap Trick’s seminal “Live at Budokan” was a major staple in my house growing up. To see Motherfather at their peak performing there it is hard not to think of that album. As well even the members of the band resemble rock icons. Once such is Robert Plant who played with Jimmy Page in Led Zeppelin. In an ironic twist, Page once owned a house previous owned by Allister Crowley himself. These fun background details give the band aspect of the story some much needed credibility as if they really were a part of the 1970’s. It is the perfect blend of rock’s larger than life status and comic book sensibilities.
Continued belowOne criticism I have to address is the “fly on the wall” nature of the book. While it does enhance the writing of the book it does no favors to the art. If this were in motion like a film it would play a lot better. Mostly though it is very difficult to tell people apart and objects are obscured to the point of confusion. One such example is when the ladies are talking about reading tea leaves. It took me three times to understand that it was a candle that was being lit in the scene. I attest this to the odd angles that are seen throughout. If this had been straightforward approach it might have been cleaner in presentation. However, when the focus is on individual characters and wide shots it is very easy to understand what is happening. It really did throw me off balance and forced a few re-reads which is not something I normally need to do. That is not to say the art doesn’t have wonderful moments it just was not consistent page to page. That lack of cohesion took me out of the story for those specific moments. I thought it much like a delete scene added back into a finished film.
All of the elements hinted at throughout come to play in the final pages of the book. After a semi-decent performance the band gets a surprise visit from someone who is their biggest fan. I would have liked a little more once this character arrived but it will be in the next issue. I am ok with that development and it will be interesting to see how the documentary style will play against this arrival.
My enjoyment of this one came from the references to rock’s past and of course Spinal Tap. But the art not lining up with the story was a little bit of a turn off. From an art perspective I hope Parker is a little more concise on how he displays each scene to avoid any potential confusion. However, there is certainly enough intrigue to bring me back for issue #2.
Final Verdict: 6.7 – The interior artwork problems are an unfortunate distraction for a solid story about rock n’ roll.
