Partly sci-fi, partly a punk rock look at the fascist nature of religion, Napalm Lullaby has come out of the gates swinging. Epic in more ways than one, Rick Remender and Bengal are crafting something unique, all spun from from a single moment. That moment involves a superhero baby not unlike Superman, but as we see in Napalm Lullaby #3, things are far worse than any peaceful conclusion.
In Napalm Lullaby #3, our main characters have entered the Citadel of Heaven, where only the prosperous are allowed and modeled after heaven. Each pilgrim has a floating halo over their head and is strictly guarded to ensure nobody is a heretic or bastard. This issue follows our main characters as they nervously make their way, trying to avoid being found out.
What Remender has done here is take a lot of what we know of Christianity and bastardize it into a dystopian nightmare. Or, if you’re inclined to see organized religion as inherently evil, reveal the truth of it. The Citadel of Heaven is bright white and “pure,” but it’s scary. This is a culture that only cares about themselves, and “as long as it keeps them comfortable… none of them give a shit.”
Napalm Lullaby shows us a world where sin police walk amongst you in a fascist yet “ideal” future where everything revolves around faith. These are people who are fine with someone killing themselves as long as it doesn’t bother the congregation. It’s a culture that must be taken down a peg or five.
What an epic place.
Credit: Image
As the story progresses, we see some interesting bits of sci-fi tech, like an orange disc that prevents weaponry from taking out any innocence or the use of holograms to make the faithful feel special. The strength of this issue lies in the dialogue, which plucks at the nature of religion in general and the need to control it.
In one scene, Sam practically loses it. The captions remind us that he’s an empath, and being near egotistical people causes him pain. The cliffhanger is exciting and comes as a shock, promising quite a confrontation for the next issue.
With a lot of dialogue and forward scenes, this issue does lack big action and set pieces, ironically making it a bit preachy as it shows a lot of preaching. Bengal highlights the location with great drama, especially the opening splash page littered with flying boats and glowing monoliths. The sheer scale of the place is well drawn and keeps you in awe, as it’s meant to be. Bengal is also great at capturing the utter awe in the characters and the downright psychotic nature of those who rule the place.
Napalm Lullaby #3 leans into the tainted nature of an overly fascist religious culture that’ll make you root for the heroes to destroy it all. Napalm Lullaby is a bold and inventive combination of sci-fi and the dangers of dogma.
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