DEATH FORCE review

(Reviewed by Melody Werner)
Death Force is, I'll be honest, the first series I've read from Zenescope that I've really experienced thoroughly. While they seem to be a pretty cool and savvy publisher, I'm not a huge fan of their largest series, Grimm Fairy Tales. I find it to be pandering and not really my style. If you're a fan of GFT, pfft, that's you. But that seems to be what they really push most, and thus, I've never really been hugely keen on reading one of their series... then I saw Death Force and found myself caught up with it almost immediately after I began. Written by Joe Brusha and illustrated by Marc Rosete, I enjoyed Death Force. What can I say? I'm a fan of Spawn/Ghost Rider knockoffs.

The art in Death Force is superb. Zenescope is a publisher who prioritizes art to an extent and it shows in Death Force. If you want a badass looking, vibrant series, you really can't go wrong with DF. The covers are pretty kickass, although a lot of the variants border on "What the hell does this have to do with the series?". Though you can’t be too surprised by their inclusion, as Zenescope is the most shamelessly pandering publisher in the biz this side of Boundless and Zenescope seems all too proud of that status. I’m not one to kink-shame or wag my finger if you get off on this kind of schlock, but I do cringe every time I see this kinda trashy, trying-way-too-hard wannabe-erotica.The character designs are pretty awesome, especially the eponymous Death Force. Really slick stuff. The action is adrenaline-pumping, swift, kinetic, and fundamentally brutal. You see bones getting snapped, bodies obliterated, and some excellent martial arts fights, something all too lacking in the comics world. It's what you want to see in a comic like this, gnarly action with the dial cranked to eleven. The lettering is solidly readable.

As far as the plot goes, think of a mix between Spawn and a more traditional revenge story, with some Punisher thrown in. That's Death Force's story in a nutshell. However, it can be cryptic at times and the pacing is way out of whack. Well, not exactly "way", but it does feel a bit rushed along, although the exposition in #1 is excruciatingly slow. The series severely lacks in explaining a lot of major plot points, which seems beneficial considering that its element is not in the narrative, but this leads to some questionable sequences. After the first action scene it's a lot of build-up, and that really is not where the series shines at all. The main character is pretty white bread, average cop hero man who does nothing wrong. I mean, he goes to Hell but the guy could pass off as an angel or the next Superman in another life. It's not like Al Simmons where it makes sense, and he's no more grey or ambiguous after becoming Death Force. That's not how I personally like my Spawn knockoffs, but hey, it does a bit to differentiate itself even if in doing so it makes a more boring character. He's still badass as Death Force, but otherwise he's a meager take on the formula. The main antagonist, Mister Talon, is pretty awesome on the contrary, though again his intentions feel underdeveloped. The dialogue is actually pretty good for the most part, though some characters are insufferable in their lines.

The finale is not particularly satisfying. The revelations and twists are developed in a lukewarm manner, and the pace is much too fast. It's a breakneck charge to the conclusion, and therefore lazy in its approach. The premise of the finale is pretty metal, but it constantly switches back and forth to less important sequences, leaving little time for the final fight. It is not fulfilling, and only serves to set up what I presume will be a sequel series.

It may seem that I'm very negative towards a lot of Death Force, but as I mentioned in the preface, I actually quite like it. If you are a fan of your Spawns and Ghost Riders and Punishers, then Death Force should be right up your alley. It's a lot of fun and does enough things right to be worth a gander. If you're not a fan of those aforementioned characters, then this series clearly isn't for you, and if you were expecting the standard Zenescope, er, flair, then you'll be sorely disappointed. Death Force can be described as a poor man's Spawn--and one would probably be right in that summary--but even a poor man's Spawn is still, you know, Spawn. Which is obviously great. Death Force gets a 7/10.

Decent

Summary:
A fun little series for those who enjoy characters cut from a similar cloth. If you're a fan of Spawn, Ghost Rider, The Punisher, Darkman, and similar characters, then Death Force will gel well with you. The art is fantastic, the covers are awesome, the action is brilliant, the main antagonist is cool, the character designs are well done, and the dialogue is generally fine. The series does fail in terms of providing a cohesive and compelling narrative, an interesting main character, proper pacing, a satisfying finale, and a well-rounded, likeable/interesting cast of characters.