Independent Propaganda

Reviewed by Matt Butcher / Writer for Independent Propaganda

I saw this banner ad for Terrible Lizard Comics on the Comicon message boards. I am always looking for new and interesting stuff so I clicked on it. Astonished, I found a well-constructed site that actually appeared worth reading.

One of the comics on the site intrigued me. The cover alone made it worth opening up the book. Steel Angel is by Fredd Gorham, whose art is sleek and stylish. The pages are very well done but appear begging for color. The color done on the cover teases the reader as to what the pages on the inside could have looked. Not to complain, the art on the pages inside was impressive.

The story gets a little convoluted and hard to decipher. The plot is set in the not-so-distant future and revolves around data hacking and viruses. Apparently there is a disgruntled employee that wants to leave his mark on the company. Viruses and programs become living creatures and infiltrate human beings. There is one thing to stop them all though: Steel Angel. Model Celia Westcott makes use of a chrome prototype suit and …saves things. I’m not quite sure yet. The only power I understood for certain that the suit could do was inflate and deflate Celias breasts for fashion shoots. While I admit that I wasn’t quite sure what was going on yet, I was still intrigued. It reminded me a bit of the first issue of Witchblade. I didn’t know much about what was going on in that Top Cow Comics series after one issue but I still stuck around for more. If Steel Angel had some of that good dialogue, it would probably be much better. The concept remains solid and strong. However, it did take me a couple of readings to fully understand what was going on.

There is a backup feature to the main plot that splits the book. It reads like a good Twilight Zone episode with the main character Steel Angel coming in and saving the day. I wish though that this feature was saved for another issue rather than be put in #1. Without really understanding the character of Steel Angel, it makes it kind of hard to really appreciate this chrome-plated woman coming into save the monster.

All in all, this comic deserves a look. The art alone is well worth looking at. The story will resolve itself in future issues, I am sure. I hope Terrible Lizard comics puts more of these up in the near future so that I can give Steel Angel the chance it deserves.

About The Reviewer: Matt Butcher reads comics and lives in Nome, Alaska. Right now, he is on summer vacation and the sun does not set until after 1:00 am. That means he is either going batty from lack of sleep or reading too many comics. Check out his blog The Butcher Shop.

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