Comic Review: Exorsisters #1 (Image)

It’s a first issue of Exorsisters, from Image, courtesy of Writer Ian Boothby and Canadian artist Giséle Legacé. With the accent on sisters and presumably exorcisms, how does it fare?

Fairly well, I would say. But I thought it would be better. Sorry about that. The story, basically constructed for us readers to understand the sister dynamics, is a good one. A young bride is jilted at an outdoor wedding, and can’t seem to make sense out of what has happened. Where is her ‘prospective hubby’? He seems to have been kidnapped!! No one can remember what happened at the wedding, so in come the Exorsisters, Cate, and Kate. From here, the sisters start checking into the situation. They drop into Hell, check things out, looking for clues.

There are some fun situation setups here, ripe for the comedic picking. But sorry, something is missing. The setups don’t get resolved. The punchlines are miffed or muffled. We see the Sister Act sputter, part way to the payoff. The bride is literally still waiting at the altar. There are a few amusing comments here and there, but nothing dramatic. And there’s the problem in a nutshell. The drama got kidnapped too!

Art by Legacé is well done but lacks the punch that we see from her online strips. Where Ménage à 3 has a lively (though thoroughly and completely adult) ‘romp’ feel to it, offbeat and zany, Exorsisters seems straightjacketed. Many panels show the sisters from a standard vantage point, with no variation in panel shape or ‘camera angle’. It’s long shot, panel after panel, almost like a stage play. There are some missed opportunities here for ramping up the humour/horror.

Colouring by Pete Pantazis is well done, but a bit sterile. Very clean and controlled. In combination with the art being done in a conservative style, these movements in the direction of visual quietness don’t do the first issue any favours.

Exorsisters is a great concept, but off to a chugging start. Let’s hope the next issue really gets the creative engine going, ignites some sparks, and allows the creative team to really strut their stuff along the rails!

Image, Exorsisters #1, $3.99 for 25 pages of content plus a chat with the creators. Teen +