American Carnage #1 (Review): A Harsh Look at Today's Society

AMERICAN CARNAGE #1

Writer: Bryan Hill

Artist: Leandro Fernandez

Colorist: Dean White

Publisher: DC/Vertigo

10/10

AMERICAN CARNAGE is the dark, gritty, crime book that I've been waiting for since 100 BULLETS ended. This brutal look at racism and extremism, in today's society, makes this one of the most relevant and honest books published right now.

What Bryan Hill and Leandro Fernandez have brought us with this captivating new series, is a book that deals with many of the problems that plague our society today. Such as police brutality, the growing divide between races, and the general distrust many of us have towards our government and politicians.

The story centers around former FBI agent Rick Wright, who gets dragged back into the game by a former colleague, Sheila Curry, to infiltrate a white extremist group. The group is led by Wynn Morgan, who Sheila thinks was involved with killing another FBI agent. The fact that Rick is biracial, but can pass for white, makes this a dangerous task for him to infiltrate the extremist group. Wynn seems like your usual 'public figure' that knows how to charm a crowd, but behind closed doors is an absolute scumbag.

Bryan has crafted an amazing successor to the long line of great crime books from Vertigo,100 BULLETS and SCALPED to name a couple. The characters are compelling and aren't predictable in any way. I have no idea where these characters stories are going, and I love that. This book is everything a good crime drama should be, real problems with real consequences.

Leandro's art is absolutely amazing. It reminds me of Eduardo Risso's work yet completely unique at the same time. His facial expressions are one of the best aspects of his art. I'm only mad that I haven't seen his art until now. He has a way of conveying the dark and chaotic world we live in, perfectly.His art coupled with Dean White's

colors have made this one of the most visually appealing books to come out recently.

This book, in my opinion, has the potential become just as important/revered as some of the classic Vertigo books. Bryan and Leandro have something really special on their hands and I can't think of a better book to come out at such a perfect time, it's like catching lightning in a bottle. This is