Written by Matt Hardy
Illustrated by Edward Bentley
Lettered by Rob Jones
Sometimes when I run through comic after comic I start to see a pattern of writing and I notice that people tend to take similar takes on genres. Not to say people can’t be original within said genre and writing style, but what Hardy has done with Cadavers is break that mold and dare to be original. I have seen a ton of very serious comics that deal with ghosts and ghouls on a typical level, compared to something like the TV show Supernatural, but what Cadavers does is take the unusual ghouls and make them relatable in a way that turns them into the protagonists. Of course the role reversal isn’t all that Hardy does with the story, there is depth to the characters and the story that is prevalent through the entire book. Hardy has a way of making the characters funny and fun while leaving the main storyline engaging with potentially serious consequences.
Cadavers is set in a small European country called Altrasania which just happens to be smack in the middle of the intersection where two parallel universe meet. Because of the new found opportunity Altrasania is flooded with a new class of immigrant called Spectral. The Spectral’s are the ghosts and ghouls that came across looking for a better life in the new world in an attempt to get away from war and a disease called Malady. Much like our own reality the immigrant class is few in population and discriminated against by the xenophobic masses. Because of the discrimination and politics involved the first issue is a largely an introduction to main ghouls and the situation they face at the hands of a want to be politician attempting to gain status by openly discriminating against the Spectral class. As I said before, an original take, with a fun light hearted approach to wiring and character development.
Bentley has a unique style and what I would call a light approach to art. I call it light because it’s cartoonish versus more realistic looking; with bigger exaggerated features, large eyes, and heads in most cases, but the style itself fits perfect with the tone of the book. I couldn’t see Bentley doing anything differently because his art is simply fun and the fun tone of the books writing is only complimented by his style of art. Bentley manages to keep the ghouls on the lighter side as well and even the most creepy of ghouls are still fun and inviting as needed for the storyline. I believe Bentley also deserves quite a bit of praise for being the only artist on this book. His colors are spectacular and have true tones to them. The colors are on a more grey scale but some of the brighter colors like yellows and whites still pop. After all of the work on the pencils, inks, and colors Bentley still found time to do an admirable lettering job. Bentley took time to pick out captions and actions that suited the book and didn’t skimp out on the dialog balloons. I’m very impressed that Bentley took on everything and it still came out looking flawless.
Cadavers can be found at Mad Robot Comics website.
