When it comes to perennial reads, Violator by Alan Moore, Bart Sears, Greg Capullo, Mark Pennington, Steve Oliff & Olyoptics, and Tom Orzechowski is probably not at the top of anyone’s list. It’s unlikely that it’s even going to be on anyone’s radar. But maybe it should be. An over-the-top action thriller with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Early Image books often get overlooked as style over substance. Artists branching out with their own company largely for the first time, creating some visually appealing material that may not have had the best writing. Some ideas could be fairly good, some best left in the ’90s. Todd McFarlane generally had some good ideas, ones that are even still around some 30+ years later so they’ve got longevity, and a crass, rather obnoxious clown that turns into a heart-ripping demon was definitely one of them.
Hiring some of the best writers in the business to flesh out and expand on those ideas was another great idea, and it led to Alan Moore writing a three issue Violator mini-series. And, honestly, I think this one holds up better now than even when it was released.
“He’s some kinda demon or spaceman or mutant, y’know? ‘Differently human,’ okay?”
I know that Alan Moore has a reputation for being a grumpy old man. I think that’s kind of unfair. If you got asked the same questions about the same period in comics where you were treated unfairly, you’d probably be a little grumpy too. It’s buoyed up by some of his most prominent, famous works being serious, if grim and gritty, works. Like Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The Killing Joke, and From Hell. What gets overlooked are works that are more full of joy and whimsy. Ones that delve into love for the medium, four-coloured fantasies. And also just how goddamned funny he can be.
I mean, it should come as no surprise for folks who’ve read The Bojeffries Saga with Steve Parkhouse and his countless DR & Quinch shorts with Alan Davis, but Moore can write some absolutely biting humour. And that’s on display with the Violator series. It’s poking fun at the grim and gritty, unhinged and wanton carnage of the ’90s anti-hero with The Admonisher, while still revelling in grim and gritty, unhinged and wanton carnage. Toss in a quartet of quarrelling demon brothers, an aside of self-inflicted psychotherapy, and Spawn as a putz and this is fun.
The artwork from Bart Sears, Greg Capullo, Mark Pennington, and Steve Oliff ensure that it’s place visually and tonally within the rest of the Spawn universe. It also reinforces that while the work is in a way a parody of the style, it’s not mocking or belittling it. It’s a joke that works with the material without demeaning it. Because the art is still highly frenetic, detail-oriented, and pulls off so many of the visual gags for the story.
And Tom Orzechowski making it easy to differentiate between the demon brothers with unique word balloons. He’s one of the letterers who could always do varied and unique balloons and fonts, making it feel like intentional design elements that enhance and enrich the story. His lettering always stands out in the right way to me.
“So you’re saying your father was a monster?”
Sometimes you’re not in the mood for art house. Sometimes you don’t want a tense emotional drama. Sometimes you just need a good, solid action piece that’s really funny. Violator by Moore, Sears, Capullo, Pennington, Oliff & Olyoptics, and Orzechowski is that action thriller. It sets a breakneck pace as the Violator is chased by one antagonist after the other out for his blood and it never lets up. It’s deranged. It’s violent. It’s bloody. But above all else it’s a lot of fun.
Classic Comic Compendium: VIOLATOR
Violator
Writer: Alan Moore
Pencillers: Bart Sears & Greg Capullo (#3)
Inker: Mark Pennington
Colourists: Steve Oliff & Olyoptics
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: May – July 1994
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