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Saturday 30 April 2016

Hillbilly Preview by Eric Powell Review


Eric Powell, creator of The Goon, resurrects his old publishing imprint, Albatross Funny Books, for his new series, Hillbilly, which kicks off on June 29th. This preview is a free Comixology exclusive short story that introduces the character and his world both of which are decidedly Powell-ish! 

A couple of Southern-accented monsters are preparing a fire in the dark woods to cook their dinner: a princess, caged on the back of the larger monster. Enter Hillbilly and his talking bear companion Lucille to save the day! 

The story does what it needs to in showing us who the character is and Rondel casts an intriguing figure. He has black eyes and a tear-stained face and he carries the Devil’s Cleaver, a weapon from Lucifer’s table (though his look says Hobo more than Hillbilly). 

The tone of the comic is familiar to anyone who’s read Powell before – it’s his unique mixture of dark art, slapstick comedy, horror, and magical realism. The familiarity is why I wasn’t that excited with the short which reads more like a Goon side-story than its own thing.

Powell’s art though is awesome-amazing as usual. His inking is so sharp, the colours perfectly balanced, and the designs and layouts instantly grab your attention. The artwork looks so good on my HD iPad screen, I’ll definitely be reading this comic digitally.

The preview’s not a mind-blowing short story but it’s not a bad intro to the character and that's good enough. Eric Powell always puts out comics worth reading so I’m in for this title anyway and will be checking out Hillbilly when it launches in June. 

Read this for free over at Comixology: 

UK = https://www.comixology.co.uk/Hillbilly-Preview/digital-comic/375900?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy
US = https://www.comixology.com/Hillbilly-Preview/digital-comic/375900?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy

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