When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee #1, written by Gus Moreno with art by Jakub Rebelka, is the debut issue of a miniseries focusing on two priests (one or both of whom may be insane) battling demonic forces and the demonic possessed across the globe.
Father Merrick Stygian is the primary focus this issue. He’s a veteran of fighting demons and if there’s ever a film made of this miniseries, Samuel L. Jackson would have to play him. To say he’s intense is like saying the Sun’s hot. Yeah, he’s intense and not much for small talk, but he’s accumulated a lot of knowledge in his many years, the best kind of knowledge that’s earned from experience and not from pouring through dusty old books. We get to see him in action this issue, showing up at the house of a young possessed girl.
As the girl’s caretaker opens the front door and Stygian’s tall lanky frame and brooding stare greet him, it reminded me of a similar scene from The Exorcist where Max Von Sydow’s Father Merrin arrives to do final battle with the demon Pazuzu. There’s a wonderful creepiness to the proceedings and writer Gus Moreno throws a couple of twists at you along the way.
Stygian is a man of action. This isn’t a guy who tosses a few drops of holy water around and chants Bible verses. He’s a demon slayer, carrying a case full of devil-fighting tools, never afraid to engage in physical combat if necessary. In many ways, he’s very much like Peter Cushing’s Doctor Van Helsing from the Hammer Dracula films, punching, diving and wrestling demonic hordes to vanquish them.
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The off-kilter art by Jakub Rebelka at times feels fuzzy, like you’re looking at the panels through a feverish haze. It adds a ton of atmosphere to the book, giving this world the feeling that it’s swathed in darkness and demons could strike at any moment from any angle.
To its credit, the book focuses more on the human characters than the multitude of demons haunting this world. We get some great backstory on Father Stygian so by the end of the issue you know him pretty well. Father Manuel Barrera, the other major character of the story, is more undisciplined and impulsive than Stygian. Barrera is introduced at the beginning of the issue as he does something incredibly shocking. I assume throughout the rest of the miniseries we’ll find out why he did it, but what’s obvious about him is that he rebels against everything, including religious doctrine, not really caring what the rest of the world thinks of him.
When he and Stygian meet for the first time, there’s a lot of animosity between these two and you wonder how they’ll ever be able to work together. Both men have dark secrets they’re keeping from the world, but will they ever reveal those secrets to each other? I’m looking forward to finding out as the miniseries rolls on.
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