Broken Frontier

A man descends into Hell to defeat the Left Hand of Lucifer. Can he save the soul of his brother without losing his own?

Higgins, his brother Danny, and Danny’s mother Jackie find themselves held prisoner beneath a graveyard, their captors The Guards of the Crimson Son, who serve their leader David. David wants a soul to sacrifice to Lucifer—but not just any soul. The soul must be from one slaughtered by his own blood, a condition Higgins unwittingly fulfills when he mistakenly kills Danny. For any chance of his brother’s survival beyond death, Higgins must descend into Hell to find David, who’s gone there himself to take his rightful place at the left hand of Lucifer. Higgins’ journey is harrowing and frightening. Along the way he meets strange, disgusting creatures and must continually barter and trade his way toward his destination. He has the stuff for the journey, but does he have enough to save his world—and the world—when he gets there? And if he wins, how will he get back? And what will he have to leave behind?

Catching Lucifer’s Lunch is a 56-page graphic novella by the Brothers May, T. J. (writer) and Jason (art and letters.) Though it defies blunt classification, several things come to mind, namely Dante’s Inferno, spaghetti westerns, and the fantasy horror of titles such as Hellboy, in which everything the mundane world believes is myth and folklore is all too real for the initiated members of secret cabals and societies. In Catching Lucifer’s Lunch the Brothers May have a killer premise that melds various genre elements into something as entertaining as it is thought-provoking, and when their story works it has a free-wheeling quality about it that tempers its thoroughly dark mood. The plot takes several unexpected turns, and the twists at the end add layers of narrative complexity as well as ripe opportunities for further chapters.

But though I was wholeheartedly on board with the idea, quite a bit about its execution leaves much to be desired. There are a number of sequences in Catching Lucifer’s Lunch where the writing and art come together extremely well. However, there are also sequences in which the writing falters, these flaws and missteps the sort that pull the reader out of an otherwise strong story. First, the pacing is uneven, decompressed with good flow at some times, but so compressed at other times when the May brothers want to cram a sequence onto one page that comprehension is strained. In these spots I found myself re-reading the page to figure out what was going on. Second, a supernatural story such as Catching Lucifer’s Lunch has a lot rules to convey to the reader so that the story makes sense. However, instead of finding ways to build the strange rules of this world naturally into the narrative itself, writer T. J. May utilizes one character, a so-called Graveyard Man on our hero’s side named Jack Darnton, whose sole function is dropping huge chunks of expository dialogue on Higgins and the reader. It’s an easy way to move the story on to the next plot point, but it frustrates reading Catching Lucifer’s Lunch by putting brakes on the flow of the story. Granted, a different approach relying more on showing than telling would have added to the page count as well as the price and printing costs, but it would have added quality, too.

As a comics artist, Jason May’s voice is his own. It’s just not developed yet. There are a few strengths that come through immediately. The blacks, whites, and grays of his soft-focused, painterly style have an air of mystery and foreboding, an approach perfectly suited for Catching Lucifer’s Lunch. And when he’s on his game—particularly in those sequences depicting Higgins’ descent into Hell—he captures action, drama, and emotion as well as anyone could with a pencil. Likewise, such an impressionistic style needs a solid sense of staging and framing, and for the most part, Jason May keeps the reader’s eye locked on the page with a variety of angles and shot lengths. But there are some glitches where his artwork doesn’t work as well as it should. There are places—particularly where facial expression is the key to a panel—where May’s work is unrefined and rushed. Though it’s clear that he knows where he wants to go, he has a long way to get there. Still, I have little doubt that he will. Even at his present stage he’s quite good.

Though an admirable effort, because of its flaws Catching Lucifer’s Lunch reads like a rough draft, which is a pity given that both the Brothers May are clearly talented and surely have better days and better stories ahead of them.