-
Justice Warriors #1
- Writer:
- Matt Bors, Ben Clarkson
- Artist:
- Ben Clarkson
- Letterer:
- Matt Bors
- Cover Artist:
- Ben Clarkson, Felipe Sobreiro
- Publisher:
- Ahoy Comics
- Price:
- $4.99
- Release Date:
- 2022-06-08
- Colorist:
- Felipe Sobreiro
In 2018, industry veterans Hart Seely, Tom Peyer, Stuart Moore, and Frank Cammuso got together with one goal: to bring more dark humor and satire into the world. As a result, Ahoy Comics was born, poised to rock the comics publishing business with its daring new format. Recently, they received much press for giving a home Mark Russell and Richard Pace's Second Coming after DC Comics canceled the project at the last minute. This time they are back with another provocative piece, parodying real-world institutions. Justice Warriors #1, written by Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson, with artwork from Ben Clarkson and Felipe Sobreiro and lettering by Matt Bors, is a dystopian tale that borders on irony.
Justice Warriors #1 opens with a grand view of Bubble City, the first perfect city where equality, diversity, and prosperity form the backbone of society. Just outside the city's protective shield lies an urban wasteland where mutants squat. The poor living conditions are a breeding ground for crime, with the upstanding cops of Bubble PD ensuring the peace, either by the blood of innocent bystanders or the brainwashed. During one such encounter, an officer dies in the line of duty, and his partner swears revenge on his killer, a self-driving bus. Meanwhile, inside the city, the singer-turned-mayor signs off on a nefarious scheme with only his own benefit in mind.
Pulitzer award finalist Matt Bors is a political cartoonist who observes the cogs and wheels of the world through a humorous lens, exploring the socio-economic divide as the system itself does everything in its power to protect the status quo. Justice Warriors #1 focuses on one such powerful institution, the police, as it safeguards the interests of its powerful benefactors. The story opens with a strong narrative hook, stringing together a few expository and sometimes shocking scenes that do not shy away from gore to create exaggerated moments throughout the book. From cops "commandeering" mutants to be their meat shields to blatant product placement almost everywhere, even in a priestly sermon, everything about the Bubble and its wasteland reflects the excess (or the lack thereof) of reality. With Ben Clarkson infusing his chaotic energy into the script, Justice Warriors #1 is just as ridiculous as it is bold.
The artwork of Justice Warriors #1 is not only as outlandish and wacky as its premise, but more than that, it helps the book transcend the barrier of jargon into a territory that may tickle readers' funny bones. Artist Ben Clarkson brings out the dichotomy of the two worlds, one forever encrusted in a bubble and the other a gritty, post-apocalyptic playground for hybrids to run amok. His designs of the latter are amazingly imaginative and turn the book into a visual treat. Meanwhile, colorist Felipe Sobreiro paints the panels in a slew of primary shades. Yet his choice of using muted tones of said colors gives the overall aesthetic a drab, dry look.
Justice Warriors #1 is, at its core, a rich satirical tale of America's overconsumption and over-policing issues, where the elite conglomerates govern the many, wringing out people's wallets in a trickle-down economy. Bors and Clarkson present such heavy themes with ease, albeit in an over-the-top fashion, making fun of established tropes and using banter to bring the irony to the foreground. Moreover, the references to real-world connotations like popular social media sites and the dependence on them to steer opinions make the issue even more immersive. Justice Warriors #1 gets off to a great start and hopefully will continue to deconstruct society's failings in successive issues.