Comic Review: Grit #1 (Scout Comics)

With a title like ‘Grit’, and logo that looks like it’s brushed on in fresh red blood, we’re off to a horrific start with issue 1!

Grit, from Scout Comics, is all about all-out battle. From the first panel to the last, it’s a battle. Yes, gritty.

Old Man Barrow, a sour and ruthless man with short hair and a shorter temper, bites off more than he can chew when a routine troll-hunting gig goes badly, landing him in the clutches of a backwoods doomsday cult. Oh-oh!!

Brian Wickman (Big White) writes to the beat of the pulse of the arteries. His slings and arrows are outrageous, the beasts are gnarly and snarly. Kevin Castaniero (Death Saves Anthology) draws an astonishing array of baddies and behaviour. His use of large and small scale, panels that play TO the action, his thoughts on panel (compositional) framing are unique and fresh. It’s fresh blood, pumping along in a fully cellular spectrum of colour, courtesy of Simon Gough (Ringside, G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes). Muted, spattering, sputtering jets of warm and cool hue.

Letterer Micah Myers (Dead Beats, Youth) likewise pulls tasteful expression from his font of wisdom. The dialogue balloons reveal mood, the words are concisely displayed to best advantage. The sound effects bounce out in contrast to the background, then disappear into the air.

A splendid start to Grit, the bloody battle book that is fighting for your attention!

Scout Comics, Grit #1, $3.99 for 23 pages of content.