Review Brew: The Red Mask From Mars #2

Posted on April 1, 2015 by John Amenta in Comics and Comic News // 0 Comments

Written and Drawn By- Vincent Hunt

Imagine if that facehugger creature from the film Alien didn’t simply impregnate John Hurt’s character with a murderous creature. Imagine if instead of knocking him up, it stayed on him and gave him great powers. How different of a movie would that have been? Well, stop imagining, because Vincent Hunt, writer of The Red Mask From Mars has done all the legwork for you.

Issue 2 finds our symbiote wearing hero Doug Stewart and his cohorts in Xenosphere ( clandestine alien defense force) inspecting a meteor crash in the English countryside. What appears to be a solid mass is actually a giant space egg covered in space sharks. This is an element I like about this book, that we are dealing with space eggs, space sharks, goo monsters and other bizarre creatures, yet it never comes across as silly. The series, as written and drawn by Hunt is quite humorous, and it sets the tone well. Doug and his military liaison Sgt. Price try to subdue the space sharks while attempting to figure out why the mysterious space egg has activated a force field. Meanwhile Lady Bethesda, head of Xenosphere, calls in a specialist to assist in the mission, as the situation spins out of control.

Red Mask is a fun read, and should appeal to fans of Sci Fi tinged comics with a sense of humor, in the vein of Fear Agent. Hunt is taking a swing at the fences by writing and drawing this, and so far so good. The art can feel a bit cartoony for my taste at times, but it fits the overall tone of the story, and is technically well done. Any small issues I have with that aspect of the book are made up for in the writing. In two issues time, the characters have all found their unique voice, and I am left wanting to read more of their adventures. Hunt is shaping up to be one of the UK’s new wave of promising talents, and I look forward to what else he has in store for the future.

4 Mr. Pinkletons of 5

Advance Copy Reviewed, In Store and On Digital April 18th 2015

http://www.theredmaskfrommars.com