Issue: The Anchor #3
Release Date: December 9, 2009
Writer: Phil Hester
Artist: Brian Churilla
Cover A: Brian Churilla (Colors: Matthew Wilson)
Cover B: Dan Brereton (Colors: Martin Thomas)
Colors: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Johnny Lowe
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
This third issue is another great installment to The Anchor coming out from BOOM! Studios. If you haven’t checked it out yet, what the heck are you waiting for? Issue #2 had me wondering what was going to happen to Clem and Hofi (OK, mostly Clem) and from the start of this issue we are not left hanging.
Colonel McBride, a hardass as one would expect, has been running experiments on what his soldiers have been calling The Anchor and who we affectionately call Clem. No matter what force is being unleashed on our holy friend, he doesn’t raise a finger. We’ve seen him tear apart the badies, but he isn’t so easily provoked.
Why, yes, this is where I take a moment out of our regularly scheduled review to discuss how much I really don’t care for Ms. Eriksdotter. I had another panel I was going going to use, and then on the second read through I saw the one below. My mind must have just skimmed over it the first time, not wanting to see, but the second read through damned me. Yes, damned. LOOK AT HER! I mean, come on! She looks two dimensional, and not at all like she is struggling to get away from the burly military men who are threatening to put her in harm’s way — she looks like she’s just taking a stroll with them.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for having women of all shapes and sizes in comics. (You know, not just busty bimbo looking women.) I even appreciate that she isn’t “conventionally beautiful” or has the look of a damsel in distress (even if that’s what those military types are trying to make her). However, she’s just incongruent with the rest of the comic! The rest of the characters are fleshed out and wonderfully drawn, but it honestly looks like the artist has never even seen a woman before. That and, other than getting Clem all riled up, she has really served no purpose this in the first three issues. (OK, Kelly, deep breath, there is more to talk about.)
So, back to things I should be taking about. Little Saint warns Clem that Hofi may be in danger, and Clem, who hasn’t been bothered by being shot at by lasers or being stabbed with bayonettes, is reasonably perturbed to find out that his friend is being messed with. Colonel McBride, who was only trying to see Clem in action, finally gets his chance (and since I’m abusing parentheses, gets walloped pretty good). Just as this happens we find out that a new demon is in Rome, and here, my friends, is where the butt-kicking fun begins.
As was hinted at in earlier issues, Clem’s current mission is to destroy the Five Furies, which manifest differently based on their location. This Fury has taken on the bodies and bones of the long-dead and recently-dead alike in Rome to shield it. Little Saint, more so than Clem, comes to save the day this time, although I won’t say how — you really should read it. This is just another time for me to say how much I REALLY do like Little Saint, or Matthew, whatever we want to call him this issue. He’s a likable character, he’s trying to figure things out (being a ghost and all), and we get to try and understand Clem a little bit better through their interactions with each other.
And… just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, so to speak, some new evil looking dude is looking down at Clem after he fights the baddie. What will issue #4 have in store? I cannot wait to read and find out. I enjoyed some of the almost silly humor in this issue; I think the comic needs to decide if Little Saint, or any other “companion” to Clem is the audience surrogate or the comic relief. I have to admit wanting this comic to be a bit more on the serious side than it is. While my closing thoughts are it seems a bit “monster of the week,” I came into it knowing that if there are five furies he will have to fight them… but I would like to know more about his origin and more of his history. Not to mention, the Clem we’ve been looking at is only half of the picture — what has his soul been up to while he’s been tortured and eating tiny hearts?
