A new mini-series from Image Comics, Purr Evil, seems to be about cats. There are cats on the cover and a cat reference in the name of the book. Let’s sniff around and try to make sense of this!
A woman picks up a sandwich from a tray on a counter, gazes out the window at the city skyline, and then we see that she is standing in the middle of a huge hotel leisure centre. There are dead bodies all over the floor and in the hotel pool. There is a large puddle of blood under each body. Into the room marches the daughter, in a cosplay-worthy schoolgirl outfit, long blue hair, headphones, and a plaid skirt. Mom is annoyed with the daughter.
And so it starts, Purr Evil #1. Frankly, it’s not a kitten picnic, nor a walk in the park. The reader is frequently confused by abrupt scene changes, disoriented by the choice of what is shown in each panel.
Writer Mirka Andolfo struggles to gather up the knitting here, with strands of this yarn flowing all over the place. On second reading, lordie, things get a little clearer, but only marginally. We are still being shunted around, seeing a blossoming young love between two protagonists, a complicated father, and son relationship, and a link between two people with similar tattoos. Oh, and magic curses. Oh, wait, and secret assassins. Oh, plus a stalker who looks a lot like the other males in the story. Just remembered, there is also a rock band. And…
Unfortunately, artist Laura Braga (inks and background assists by Giovanni Manca, colours by Bryan Valenza. letters by Fabio Amelia) mixes us up by drawing people who look too similar. Is it the dad, or is it the son? Are we seeing the son today, or the dad in a flashback?
On the bright side, the visuals are carefully rendered, for sure. The colouring, and the attention to detail is impressive. But the pity is that this is all decoration on the cake when the real problem is obvious: editors Davide Morando and Davide GG Caci needed to get this convoluted plot on a leash and steer it into a cohesive comic. Andolfo’s script needs streamlining, and simplification, so the reader can relax and not be chasing their furry tail in deciphering this “CATastrophe”.
Image Comics, Purr Evil #1, 23 pages of content, Mature rating
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