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Warren Ellis: The High Cost of (Black) Gas

By Leroy Douresseaux
January 31, 2006 - 22:38

First, I would like to say that one part of me is saying that there is no way in Hell that I’m going to pay another $3.99 (plus tax) to read a 22 page comic book story (10 of this magazine’s 32 pages are in-house ads). On the other hand, I’m horny to read the rest of WARREN ELLIS BLACKGAS.

In the first issue, Warren introduces us to his heroic duo, college student Tyler and his girlfriend Soo. Tyler is taking Soo to his “hometown,” Smoky Island, to meet his parents. Smoky Island has a little secret that plays heavily in this tale; it lies on a fault line. Tyler introduces Soo to his parents, but decides that he’d feel more comfortable have sexual relations with Soo in his parents’ cabin in the woods rather than under his parents’ roof. While the couple are having fun, that fault line comes into play and an earthquake occurs, one that releases an ominous black gas the village (but not the cabin). While Tyler and Soo aren’t exposed to the gas, apparently, most, if not all, of the island’s residents are. It does something to them. They’re no longer human, and they’re hungry…

I don’t have a problem with the story. I’m excited about practically anything that reeks of zombies (the Romero kind and otherwise) or the risen/walking/living dead. Ellis sets this up well: nice young couple, isolated location (in this case an island), and entities intent on killing them. Basically, it’s Tyler and Soo versus the world, and in this case, that world has just become a mob of flesh eating creatures. The art, by Max Fiumara, is good, but not pretty. It’s perfect for the dank and chilly atmosphere, which seems to permeate the island, which also has a sense of the foreboding about it. Leaning towards realism, Fiumara’s art (with an ink assist by Sebastian Fiumara) looks like something from a low to modestly budgeted horror film, and that’s what Blackgas is – a paper mini-movie.

Now, to read the three issues that comprise this filmic comic would cost me $12, and since I would never have to pay that much to see a movie where I live, I don’t see myself spending eight bucks to finish this. Issues of quality or artistic merit aside, this comic, at a cover price of $3.99, is overpriced. It’s almost a rip off. Why not just publish the entire 66-page saga as one comic magazine for about five or six dollars? That’s way more reasonable. Independent companies have a hard enough time competing or even trying to stay alive without digging their graves with overpriced comics.

Still, I’d like to read the rest of this…

For more of me, please, visit NEGROMANCER.

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51