By Daniel Vlasaty

The Goddamned is written by Jason Aaron, with art from R.M. Guera – the creative team behind one of my all-time favorite comics, Scalped. I was super excited when this book was announced, but I’m sad to say that I stopped reading it when it was first coming out due to its erratic release schedule, which was most likely because Jason Aaron’s been writing like a dozen books for Marvel on top of his creator-owned titles. 

The Goddamned is a violent, biblical, post-apocalyptic story, which may seem like a weird combination (and also a mouthful), but I think it’s fitting.  The story follows Cain through the wasteland that the planet has become after the fall of Eden. Cain’s a simple dude. He’s basically been alive forever. His parents were Adam and Eve and he was the first person ever born on Earth. And the only thing he wants is to die. He spends his days just moving through the world looking for the thing that will finally kill him.

He is searching for giants. He is searching for death.

As far as story goes, that’s about it. There isn’t much character development or growth or any of that other stuff some people might expect when reading a book. But what The Goddamned lacks in all those literary areas it more than makes up for when it comes to the environment and the violence.

This book has a grimy feel to me. Not to say that’s a bad thing. I think it worked well here.

Where The Goddamned really excels is in the art. R.M. Guera’s art is really great in this and it fits the tone of the book perfectly. All the blood and guts and carnage. All the sprawling and desolate landscapes. I probably liked the art a little more than the writing in this one, but they seemed to play off each other well.

Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera know how to work together, and I loved the over-the-top feel of The Goddamned. The only downside of this book, to me, was the erratic release schedule when it was first coming out. But it's okay because this story is probably better when read all at once. 

Score: 4/5

The Goddamned, Vol. 1: Before the flood.
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: R.M. Guera
Publisher: Image Comics