I feel like I've talked with a million people at Mad Cave Studios, but my white whale has been THE Mark London....
Not only is Mark the founder of Mad Cave Studios, but he is responsible for two of my all-time favorite series (not at Mad Cave, my ALL TIME): Battlecats and Knights of the Golden Sun. ON TOP OF ALL OF THIS, he very well may be the Sexiest Man in Comics!
Aside from my fanboy obsession with Mr. London, I honestly believe he's an exceptional writer, and has built one hell of a team at Mad Cave Studios. I'm very excited to dive into his fifth new world he's created at Mad Cave, this time its a real clash of the titans in Hunt Kill Repeat.
Hunt Kill Repeat #1 (Mad Cave Studios)
By: Mark London, Francesco Archidiacono, Marc Deeling, Lee Loughridge and Rus Wooton
Releases: March 1, 2023
This reference is only in my head because I re-watched Love and Thunder last night...but when Gorr finds his way into Paradise and finds the gods laughing and he begs for mercy from his god promising more followers...and the god laughs and claims that there will inevitably be more followers.... Hunt Kill Repeat is basically the exact opposite of that premise.
Instead of an angry follower of a neglecting god, in Hunt Kill Repeat...Zeus and the pantheon are PISSED at humanity for ignoring their existence in favor of getting lost in the worlds of technology. So, Zeus goes OFF on humanity, and across several pages of brilliant destruction and watching elements of humanity get "squished like grape" we end up in the modern era.
Zeus has demanded that mortals worship him again, and he has his golden gestapo stationed around ensuring his will is law. Even a harmless fruit stand operator is beaten to a ...pulp... (that felt yucky) but it's because he was a black market technology trader.
Eventually one of his own, Artemis, is grabbed by the gods, and when it is found that she is no longer celibate AND pregnant by the seed of a mere mortal, we see her husband murdered, and Artemis falls at her father's hand. That's barely halfway into the issue. Across this 48-page mammoth we see Artemis rise again and that a small family feud may quickly escalate into a civil war amidst the gods and the lines are very quickly being drawn.
I will say for as much as I love Battlecats and Knights of the Golden Sun....the range of emotions I felt throughout this issue felt like an entire miniseries in and of itself, and we may be on the precipice of London's greatest tale yet!
Can I also say HOLY LEGENDARY ART TEAM BATMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hunt Kill Repeat is the American debut of penciler Francesco Archidiacono who's been working as a comic book artist and Art Director for the Italian Air Force...and holy hell what an amazing welcome to America. If this cat isn't locked down for the next several years with stateside work, I'll be absolutely shocked!
Mark Deering shines on inks adding amazing definition to Archidiacono's line work. Across the 18 years he's had in the industry, he keeps finding new ways to shine and impress. When asked about Hunt/Kill he says "I am very much looking forward to showing the world that we have all spent the last 10 months working on and introducing Francesco's wonderfully dynamic pencils to everyone. Hunt. Kill. Repeat. is a crazy thrill ride! Hold on and get ready!”
The legendary Lee Loughridge is on colors, and I have fallen in love with every work he's touched, and I'm just left with my jaw hanging from every page turn. The three men on the art side of this book have simply left me speechless.
And of course, we can't forget the letterer! Rus' choices are also astounding (I need to talk to Birch about how to write about letter-ers).
If this book doesn't come back for multiple printings I'll be puzzled as hell. I think you should get this on your pull list ASAP so you can secure an issue #1 of what could easily be one of the best issues of 2023!!!!!
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