Sometimes you need a story that is all action, fight choreography, and gunfire, which is where Gehenna Naked Aggression comes into play. A new series from Image Comics, Gehenna Naked Aggression is an action scene that doesn’t quit with readers figuring out what’s going on along the way. Think John Wick; only our hero is a buxom babe who has a kidnapped kid to drag around while she kills bodyguard after bodyguard.
This is a visual story first, which drives your eye across the page as you soak in the gratuitous violence and frenetic pacing. From the first page, Maurizio Rosenzweig draws your eye with a six-panel grid of close-quarters combat. Writer Patrick Kindlon explains that when a kill takes a little too long, your mind wanders, getting off the topic of finishing the kill and pondering why you’re killing at all. In each panel, we see very honed movements as they each go for a gun, which makes the page turn to a double-page layout, and the enemy getting their head blown off all the more exciting. All this, while the last wide-angle panel shows multiple enemies across the street.
So begins an action sequence that has our lead character, Gehenna, racing through a building, onto a roof, and into a car, narrowly escaping death at every turn. By her side is a kid she’s kidnapped–the son of the man she really wants to kill, adding a unique dynamic. Gehenna isn’t necessarily a good guy, but she’s better than the kid’s father, we know that much.
Each panel feels intense!
Credit: Image
Art by Rosenzweig is out of this world good, with great details in backgrounds in particular. There are incredibly impactful moments thanks to framing and structure. At the end of one page, Gehenna has a door between her and a bad guy, with the bad guy peeking in. We turn the page, and in three panels, he gets his head blown off by a shotgun. Gehenna is not playing around.
There’s a B-movie grindhouse vibe to it all, partly because of the violence, but also due to how Gehenna and another woman are dressed. Due to the nature of the story and edgy violence, it works. Sure, it’s a touch exploitive to have Gehenna in leather with a ton of cleavage, but that just honors films of the past. A blonde detective on her trail has her top practically falling open, but it almost makes her Gehenna’s equal in some sense.
Mixed in with the action are flashbacks that help explain Gehenna’s actions. These scenes are told in a way to convey Gehenna’s rage and need for revenge, and you won’t argue with it.
I also recommend not skipping the afterword by Kindlon, as it adds some context to the story and his love of action comics of the past.
Gehenna: Naked Aggression #1 is a blood-soaked, high-octane thrill ride that lives and dies by its visuals, and it absolutely lives. With jaw-dropping art, tight pacing, and a raw, revenge-fueled tone, this debut delivers pure action comic bliss, though its grindhouse aesthetic may not be for everyone. Think John Wick meets Faster Pussycat Kill Kill meets The Professional.
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