Lucas Stand: Inner Demons #1 Review

Lucas Stand: Inner Demons #1 Review
Writer: Kurt Sutter, Caitlin Kittredge
Artist: Jesús Hervás
Colors: Alex Guimarãs
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Boom! Studios

Review by Michael Farris, Jr.

Kurt Sutter of Sons of Anarchy fame brings us the next chapter in his original comic series Lucas Stand, and it’s the gritty, macho, blood-spattered type of yarn you’d expect from Sutter with a supernatural twist. Stand, after being bossed around by the demon Gadrel, is on his own and has his mind set on hunting down the demon Penemue. Stand hops around a plethora of historical eras with the help of his newly-repaired time-traveling compass, kicking demon ass and taking names along the way. But in his single-minded pursuit of Penemue, his journey might have attracted unwanted attention.

This is my first journey into the world of Lucas Stand, and after having read this issue, I want to go back and get all I can about this character. This is the dark, almost anti-hero type of story-telling that I’ve always enjoyed, and the demon-hunting edge adds to the appeal of the series. Lucas might not seem like the most complex character on the outside, but there’s definitely an intriguing “is he becoming like the ones he hates” angle to his character that comes out the more obsessive his hunt gets.

While some might get bogged down by the inner-monologue heaviness of this issue, I thought it had a noir feel to it with the added benefit that shows that seedy pursuit stories can work as well in 1970s America as they can in colonial times. I also enjoyed the descriptiveness of Sutter and Kittredge’s writing—“The cold thing that slots into place where my heart should be” almost made me feel the fear the character was experiencing.

The artwork is also a high mark of the series. It matches the gritty, dirtiness of the overall story, and whether Stand finds himself in the 70s, 1930s Chicago, the trenches of The Great War; the art somehow works with it all. The demons were also terrifying in their own way—whether they were low level lackeys or humanlike—I just kinda wish there were more. But I’m sure that’s coming.

Verdict:
Buy it. I feel like there’s been a lack of dark and unforgiving entertainment in my life lately, and this issue filled the void. The upcoming trials that Stand will inevitably have to face have me anxious to get my hands on the next issue. My only demand for the next issue: moar demons.