Review by Lauren Pon

[Excerpt]

I came away from San Diego Comic-Con with more than one graphic novel in my giant bag o’ goodies. Sure, there were movies, TV shows, and video games vying for my attention, but what good is going to a comic convention if you don’t enjoy its namesake? Out of the bunch in the bag, though, it’s Damaged that grabbed my attention – and it should grab yours, too.

Available on August 17th under Sam Worthington‘s Full Clip Productions imprint with Radical Comics, Damaged #1 is the start of a series that looks to be one hell of a ride.

Slated to be a six-issue series, Damaged was written by Eisner winner David Lapham and illustrated by Leonardo Manco, most well known for his work on Hellblazer. The combined work of Lapham, Manco, creators Michael and John Schwarz, and executive producer Sam Worthington, Damaged #1 is a a raw, gritty series starter that takes no prisoners. It offers more than just your run-of-the-mill crime drama – and is a sight for sore eyes, to boot.

Damaged follows the story of two brothers, Frank and Henry Lincoln – one cop, the other vigilante. Comic fans are bound to bring up inevitable similarities to the Punisher’s story based solely on the idea of real-world vigilantism, but the story of the Lincolns is definitely its shaping up as its own, separate from whatever influences it may have. Henry’s a hardboiled vigilante at the end of his time and his brother Frank is coming to the end of the line as a cop, being phased out by newer, bright-eyed talent Jack Cassidy.

Henry’s end of the story, at least in the beginning, is action packed and will definitely grab your attention with its vibrant illustration and excellent paneling. At the same time, I was struck by how easily the scenes in Frank’s world held my attention, despite being more sedated scenes that relied solely on Lapham’s tight dialogue.

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