Story by: Llexi Leon & Tim Seeley
Written by: Tim Seeley
Art by: Angel Hernandez
Colors by: Fran Gamboa
Letters by: Jacob Bascle
Cover Artwork by: Ryan Christensen
Edited by: Llexi Leion & Denton J. Tipton
Intro:
Disturbed is a band that is very close to my heart. Their music inspires me and has gotten me through some of the darkest times in my life. Their lyrics are always hard-hitting, as they reflect on the real issues that occure in the world outside, be it dealing with the loss of a loved one through suicide or miscarriage, living through the lies that we see reported by governments on television and in the newspapers, or battling your darkest inner demons through addiction and suffering. Disturbed’s heavy drums, low tone guitars and lead singer, David Draiman’s voice, create powerful music that resonates both in the studio and live on stage.
Their mascot, known as The Guy, is a badass looking demonic figure, but he fights for the good of the world within some of Disturbed’s music video’s, first appearing on the cover of their ‘Ten Thousand Fists’ album (2005) as a full bodied character, and in the music video for their cover of Genesis’ song, Land of Confusion, in which The Guy frees the people from tyrannical governments and inspires the civilians to fight back against evil. Since then he has been a prominent figure within Disturbed’s artwork, promotional material and music videos.
I always said The Guy would make a great character in an animatied TV Show or Film, or better yet a comic, and now here we are, with his first ever five issue mini-series.
Plot:
Griffin DeSanto is a firefighter in the Polvo, Sagrado region in California, USA. He’s a hero to many, as he risks his life every day to save the lives of strangers, trapped in the fires that his team work hard to put out. However, after a fire at a technological facility leads him to a basement, unseen on any blue-prints, in order to rescue a worker he heard calling, his life changes drastically, as the floor collapses and he falls into a void of darkness. When he awakens, he discovers himself to be 20 years in the future, but that shock will be nothing compared to what he’ll soon discover when Kek Tech sends out their drones to cease him.
Kek Tech is a technology company built upon lies and the misfortune of others, charging people high prices for products, whilst underpaying their staff, forcing them to live in rundown, unsafe housing, which Griffin DeSanto is very vocal about when it comes to his opinions on the matter. So, what will DeSanto make of this horrific Kek Tech filled world he is about to discover?
Story:
The First issue of ‘Disturbed: Dark Messiah’ is an intriguing start to what will no doubt be a much larger story that unfolds within the following four issues.
The story for Dark Messiah is one that reflects very much the same themes that Disturbed, as a band, reflect within their music. The corruption of technology and corporations that overwork and underpay staff, treating humans as nothing more than numbers that can be replaced, or even worse, erased, from the equation when things don’t go their way.
The Guy, who has not been named as such in the comic, is a galactic force for good, protecting innocents and punishing the wicked not just on Earth, but across the galaxy as well, and no, Earth needs his guiding hand to right the wrongs committed by the corrupt and careless, who treat their subordinates as lesser beings.
Art
The art in this book is brilliant, with clearly defined linework that makes each character pop from the panels and pages. The colours mid-toned so that they are neither too bright nor too dark, giving us a vivid reflection of the world within this story, that is grounded somewhat in our reality. It’s a sense of what the future could be like if we allow the technology and the corrupt officials to take over our lives.
The designs for The Guy in his various forms are intriguing, as we see his full form in some panels, as he fights against the oppressors and the drones, as well as seeing his strange orbital form as he travels across the galaxy (as seen in the image above), but also we see just his eyes and his grin, reminiscent of his origins as a logo for the band on the back of their first studio album ‘The Sickness’ released in 2000. His presence in this comic is powerful and badass, as he appears when he’s truly needed and will stop at nothing to right the wrongs of the oppressors. He appears to have supernatural abilities such as strength, speed and manipulation of the metal chains that hang around his arms. All of this depicted through the incredible art throughout this issue.
Conclusion:
If this book continues to reflect the same themes that Disturbed themselve reflect within their music, then this is going to be dark, brutal, powerful and overall, very moving. It will be a reflection of a dystopian future that we may very well end up in, but the difference between this story and our world, we don’t have The Guy to come and save us, only Disturbed, and their fans, known as the Disturbed Ones.
I would recommend this comic to any fan of either the Disturbed music or just of comics in general, especially those that are hard-hitting, as I can only imagine what comes next. The one issue I have is the shipping costs that make getting a hold of these comics outside of the US an expensive pain. Hopefully there will be an easier to obtain UK release, either of the single issues (which I doubt since they’re limited edition’ or of a collected edition book.
Currently, buying a single issue of this comic, including shipping etc. will cost a UK fan around £30, which I understand is because it’s not a mainstream publisher and the shipping costs etc. but it feels like £150 for 5 single issues of a comic is a little bit too pricey. I am a true Disturbed fan, they are my favourite band, but not everyone can afford such costly rates to support their idols and inspirations. Maybe that’s just me but I had to put that out there.
If you are lucky enough to have money to spend on this comic then you can find all of the current issues, as well as an awesome action figure of The Guy here: https://incendium.online/collections/disturbed
Or if you want to check out more from Disturbed, you can visit their official website here: https://www.disturbed1.com/
Media Mallrat 
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