Wow! It has happened. One comic has led me to actually spend money on an American comic book. Yes, you read correctly. I actually put $2.99 on the counter for a comic book because Gate Crasher was so damn good I had to check out more of Black Bull's titles. And sure enough Black Bull pulled through I was pleasantly surprised. Marvel, DC and Image put up a red cape and Black Bull Entertainment went crashing right through it. Black Bull has ushered in a new dawn in the American Comics Market.

     First let me note that Shadow Reavers is better than Gatecrasher. This is one book you have to read if you are getting tired of the re-written and washed out comic book scene. The story behind this soon to be legendary sequential work is that the world is coming to an end, and things are going to be bad. Warlocks will conquer the Earth and destroy anyone that steps in their way. In fact, the comic opens up with the world ending as the Warlock Vigil comes to Earth and squares off against Earth's last hope, a witch named Claire Vala. But before we get see the fate of the world the story flips back in time to before Vigil battles the Claire to when the Shadow Reavers were led by the witch Helen Nightshade. Nightshade's Reavers banded together to stop the Warlocks and keep them from taking over the Earth. The cool thing about this is, no one knows if she will end up being a worse than the Warlocks, but since we see her fighting on what appears to be the good side, she is the hero. Her team includes Exile, who is not really happy being with Nightshade, and Golem, a mysterious creature who kicks ass, violently. This is the ultimate battle between good and evil, but the battle hits a nasty snag halfway through issue one.

     This comic book was mad cool. The second issue is even better. Claire Vala is still in the picture. Issue two even has a cool werewolf autopsy section that is just plain nasty, but too damn cool to look away from. So many twists and turns really complicate an ending. The artwork is just phat, and the violence quotient is high, keeping those who just like action and gore, extremely happy. In addition to this, the story is just really well thought out. You can tell the creators spent a long time plotting this series until it was perfect. I enjoyed the dialogue. The comic is dark, gritty and fascinating. The end will leave you wondering what the hell could happen next and issue one's Q&A with the creators will have you guessing as to what the future holds. When they say Vigil "gates" to Earth, could it possibly mean that the Gatecrasher will play a role in this epic tale? I guess we will have to see in the future. Better get your hands on this comic soon; the end is near.

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