Writers Ben Errington & Luke Kondor smashed their creative heads together to bring us the first comic released through Hawk & Cleaver in the shape of a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi epic (with a hint of wrestling) El Marvo.
The ruins of Earth sees the survivors huddled onto the continent of Muck where it’s all-out suffering under the rule of dictator Sokrates and while his main man 8-Ball continues to dish out the oppression it’s time the tides were turned. Up steps El Marvo as he awakens from his cryo-sleep and the hazy memory of a one-legged wrestler seems to be the catalyst for working out a plan to turn the tides.
Joining forces with like-minded justice seekers, Ibrahim Greycloud & Madeline Moonshine, the gang are soon forming a team to take the bad guys head-on. Cue the high paced chase, the glimpse of a Legend becoming a reality and we’re soon given a new challenge for our wrestling hero to overcome. While that all plays out like we’d expect, the action-hero vibe to the story is an intoxicating mix of ideas that fit together far better than I was initially expecting which is largely down to that amazing script from Ben & Luke.
That story has life breathed into it by all-rounder Dan Butcher as he weaves his magic on art, colours & lettering to give the pages an energy that highlights the scale of the set-pieces and the emotion in the struggle to survive. The trio of creators mould the elements together into a unique mix of Mad Max & Demolition Man with a wrestler thrown in to keep you off-guard but they never take the focus of entertaining the reader which spells success for this first issue. They ease this opener to a close with a hint at something bigger to come in the future and I’m left hoping that reaches us soon. Shout out to Will Robson & Vincent Cyril on that cracking cover too.
Go check out more of Hawk & Cleaver’s projects over on their website and keep up to date with what’s next through their Facebook, Instagram & Twitter pages.
You can also keep tabs on each of the creators on Twitter too:
Ben Errington @ben_errington
Luke Kondor @LukeofKondor
Dan Butcher @VanguardComic
Will Robson @robsonink
Vincent Cyril @Vince_Colo
Keep an eye out for Dan Butcher at this weekend’s Thought Bubble event too.
8/10
G-Man
COMICS ANONYMOUS 