Death Sentence Issue #1 - Graded B+

Title:	Death Sentence
Contributors:	Monty Nero Michael Dowling
Publisher:	Titan Comics
Issue #:	1
Year:	2013
Pages:	32 Pages
Age Rating:	18 (Language, Violence, Gore, Nudity, Sex, Adult Themes)
Story Grade:	B
Art Grade:	A

Death Sentence is short run, six issue, mini-series from Monty Nero and Michael Dowling published by Titan Comics. On one hand, it is too bad it will be such a short run because so much could be explored with this series, but on the other hand it's probably best to keep it short as it may run into issues over a long haul; remember NBC's Heroes anyone?

The story's premise is simple. A sexually transmitted virus, called the G Plus virus, infects people, enhances them to various degrees (some more or in most cases usually less in others) and then, in a twist of fate, kills these people six months later. This makes a nice little twist on what promises to be an interesting tale of new found power in otherwise common people.

The story is focused on three individuals. A cliché everyday jane doe named Verity who is sexualized by her boss; a cliché failing-junkie-indie-rocker named Weasel who separated from his successful band because of his ego; and an equally cliché egomaniacal standup comic named Monty (think a less lovable version of Russell Brand's character in Get him to the Greek).

Each of these three characters develop their own, uniquely different gifts and are determined by the government agency in charge of registering the infected to be the highest class of the infected (if you were to compare them to the classes of mutants like in the X-Men, all three of these would be Jean Grey Level 5 Dangerous).

The story is a little a ho-hum at points, and the characters are a little too cliché, but the premise is solid enough to be able to still care about the characters, much like you cared about Russell Brand's "Greek" Character.

The story progresses nicely, dedicating pages specifically to developing each character in a balanced fashion that allows each character to grow on you which can be difficult to do with three characters and only thirty-two pages, but the author and artist do it well.

Where the story does get its good grade from is that it address abstract topics I have always asked about superpowers. For example; when Heroes was on NBC, when the Cheerleader was assaulted by the jock behind the bleachers that raised a question into my mind and I would have loved to have had it answered?

Since the Cheerleader healed from any injury since birth, when she lost her virginity, broke her hymen, would it have grown back? If so, would that mean that every time she had sex it would be like the first time, breaking the hymen? That would suck from a woman's perspective and would be a serious topic for a comic to tackle. And while this particular topic isn't addressed in this comic, several others are, such as what would happen if a sexual predator had the ability to control other people's minds? Exploring these types of subjects elevates the grade for the story quite a bit for me.

If you haven't been able to tell as of yet, the story contains subject matter not suitable for kids; including drug references, sexual references, sexual references with religious figureheads, frank language, etc. So consider yourself forewarned as a parent.

The artwork is pretty slick; in other words don't judge a book by it's cover. The cover makes the book all alt-indie, when it actuality it has nothing to do with the story at all, so I don't know why they chose the cover at all. But the inside art is entertaining and beautifully drawn and colored.

The character's are full of details and rich in color. The scenes are full of texture, but not overdone. There is a balance in the art. It is very well done overall.

The art can be graphic both in gore and sexuality. While the sex scenes are more like softcore, (some pubes and boobs are shown, faces buried in crotches, groins pressed against one another assuming penetration is happening) nothing is too graphic (no hardcore), but again this is not for kids by a long shot. This is a adults comic book dealing with adult themes.

Overall I graded the story a B due to the cliché character types being used as they seem to be overused in the world of writing... hell in most mediums anymore. It could be that most musicians are drugged out egomaniacs and that is why most stories portray them as such, but I would love to see something fresh in the character arena. I do like the fresh take on the superpower origin and the side effect of a super-virus.

The artwork I graded a A. It is nicely balanced, clean and well thought out.

I look forward to finishing the remaining five issues of this series. If you are looking for an adult comic that takes an adult look at some things that you have been reading in the past, then this is could be the comic for you.

Until next time... happy flipping.