Faustian bargains are always a bad deal, but they can make a hell of a great story. Goethe understood the appeal, as well as many musicians, artists, and writers up to the current day. With the Curse of Brimstone, DC Comics jumps on the bandwagon with its own fresh take on this particular trope, and the results are surprisingly poignant. Through the filter of superhero comics Phillip Tan and Justin Jordan create a tragic new hero that feels especially relevant in today’s world.
Unlike Faust, Joe Chamberlain actually has heroic motivations for making his own deal. He does it to save his town and his sister from stagnation and poverty. There’s an element of tragedy when he bursts into flame and becomes the titular Brimstone. Tan and Jordan build up to this climatic moment. It feels earned when Joe makes that fateful step, because the sense of hopelessness is made palpably real in the preceding twenty pages.
The town of York Hills may share the world of Gotham and Metropolis, but it’s plight of economic malaise and social deterioration is very grounded in reality. Tan and Jordan capture this from the get go by treating the town itself as a character. The reader is drawn deeper into York Hills panel by panel, becoming as invested with its plight as the people who live there. The emotional investment in Joe’s home makes his transformation all the more believable.
Much of what makes this debut issue work is contingent on the visuals. Tan’s work on both the script and the pencils gives the book a seamless quality that’s hard to match. His pencils convey a sense of decay and desperation that sucks the reader in. The world looks lived in and abandoned at the same time. He’s joined by colorist Rain Beredo, whose mastery of tone gives the entire book a tinge of horror that sets it apart from superhero comics on the stands.
Rating: 9
-Andrew Fontana
