Review: The Goddamned: Before the Flood

Ooh, a provocative and probably very offensive title? Well, the very name of this comic is a warning sign, so if you are already offended by its title, this one might not be for you. But maybe if you read on I can give you an idea.

This Comic was written by Jason Aaron, drawn, painstakingly, by r.m. Guéra and colored by Giulia Brusco. Before Aaron and Guéra made their indian reservation crime series "Scalped" together, Jason Aaron was already thinking about The Goddamned. And here it is, all his favorite themes rolled into a caveman story; religion, faith, violence and a dark but serious look at the creationist world view.
And in these 5 issues we visit the scene and the question, of the world before the flood and how disgusted exactly God had to be, to be able to decide to just drown it all.

This is a comic I read recently that I was just blown away by. I loved it.
Went in expecting much and I got even more.

Graphic ultra-violence with well thought out and well-executed fight sequences, gratuitous swearing, nudity, dark mythology, monsters and interesting, flawed characters with grey morals.

We follow, for the most part, in this 5-issue arc, Cain, the biblical first murderer on his quest for death. This isn't exactly the Cain you might know but rather a different take on the first killer. Sentenced by god to live forever this Cain is a beautiful 1600 year-old immortal who is more than a little adept at killing and who has no qualms about doing so. The Mark that God gave Cain to identify him as the first murderer and set him apart from other men is in this comic depicted by having him be unmarked. He has no scars, no blemishes, nothing wrong with his body in any way whatsoever. And in a world that is as horribly brutal and fallen as this one is, a man without scars tends to stand out. It's a very nice interpretation of the Cain Mark.

There are references to the biblical God, to angels and their half angelic offspring, the Nephilim. But apart from that and Cain's immortality, the supernatural elements are kept rather restrained. Oh and by the way, though Cain might not be able to die (the jury is still out on this) he can and does suffer, horrifyingly so.

Other biblical characters show up; there are glimpses of a very different kind of Adam and Eve than the ones you might be used to, whose brief scene together I found both appalling and amusing.
There is a twisted version of Noah and his Ark, assorted beasties, odd-looking dinosaurs, various degenerating bestial humans and more blood and gore and unrestrained violence than you'd find on a medieval battlefield. All serve to showcase some of the worst that humanity is capable of doing to one another.

Future arcs will apparently follow different characters, in the same world but not necessarily in the same age, and the creators don't rule out that Cain won't be re-visited or that he might even show up in other characters' stories. Immortals tend to have longevity, after all. But for now this arc can and does stand on its own.

If epic, dark biblical fantasy is your thing, if you like the art you see, if you aren't easily shocked or offended or just like to push the envelope; you'd do well to check this out, provided that you can stomach it of course.
Because the years before the flood were awful "and the earth was filled with violence" and Jason Aaron, Guéra and Brusco will rub your nose right in it.

Did I mention that the dinosaurs look odd?