If you are a fan of Slayer, and picked up their 2015 album Repentless (Nuclear Blast, then you might be aware of the three music videos/ short films directed by BJ Mcdonnell; ‘Replentless, ‘You Against You’ and ‘Pride in Prejudice’ from the album. Now serialized in a three issue series is coming out monthly from Dark Horse Comics, Slayer- Repentless the comic is written by Jonathan Schnepp (Metalocalypse: Dethklok, Collider on YouTube), drawn by Guiu Villanova (The Twilight Zone, 100 Bullets, Dark Shadows, Weird Detective), lettered by Nate Piekos (Darkhorse Presents, Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four, Green Arrow, Weird Detective) and colored by Maurico Wallace (Weird Detective, Magnus: Robot Fighter, Turok).
Visually this comic looks great with a card stock cover by Glenn Fabry (Preacher, Hellblazer, 2000 A.D.). The variant cover for Issue #1 was done by Eric Powell (The Goon, The Spirit, Swamp Thing) As for the story, you don’t have to have seen all the videos or be familiar with Slayer’s music to appreciate this, but it helps. This action/ thriller continues after the horrific events of the ‘Pride in Prejudice’ video.
The story begins with a clever recap and a more detailed origin of our one-eyed main man, Wyatt. We see how the death of his parents change the lives of his brother Adrian, and him. Thrust into a world of Nazis, redemption, and revenge Wyatt along with fellow inmate Manny set out to put an end to the Adrian and his nationalist pals that had them ready to kill each other, and also murdered Angel, Wyatt’s pregnant girlfriend in front of them. Schnepp’s writing gives solid voices to the characters, while Villanovas’s gritty art style wasn’t working for me until I sat down and started reading. Story and art blend seamlessly as we see both sides of this family civil unfold. Everyone’s out for blood and from their own point of view, it’s all justified.
I’m not one for spoilers so I will say that this part ends very strong as Wyatt and Manny prepare for the upcoming battle. This story is littered with visual and verbal Slayer song title Easter-eggs. I was worried that it was a little too much, but then I had a few more pointed out to me. So I guess there’s’ never enough inside gags.
With the tone of this story, it feels very much like something late Slayer co-founder Jeff Hanneman would have been proud of. It’s a wonderful tribute and riveting extension to the almost 23-minute short films. I can’t wait to see what happens next month! I wasn’t sure what to expect with this, but I’d recommend this to the metal fans of course as well as the comic book fans. It’s fun and it’s not every day you can have a Slayer playing as the soundtrack while you read. Order your copy here!
8.0/10 – OMAR CORDY
