Broken Frontier

I hope I’m never quizzed on Oren Kramek and Omer Goodovich’s Ned the Chainsaw Guy, because I’d surely fail. It’s not due to lack of attention—quite the opposite, in fact. I’ve read both the first and second issue of this Big Dog Ink book very closely, and with a lot of excitement at that. But try as I might, exactly what’s going on always seems to elude my grasp.

When I originally reviewed the first issue of Ned, I compared the reading experience to the hallucinogenic drug Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which is known for this tagline: “Load universe into cannon. Point at brain. Fire.” I stand by this comparison in regards to the second issue as well, because all of the interiors of the book are so wild and so vivid that it’s hard not to think of some kind of psychedelic trip. I’m sure the creators are aware of this, because in this installment we meet a council that appears to be devoted to the use of shrooms. So, there it is.

Here in the second issue, we learn more about the cityscape of Dis, the world of Hell it’s situated in, and the inhabitants that live there. There are guardians, creatures of great power I am assuming, and destroyers, too, of even great power I’d say. This is what Ned is, and he’s only one of a very limited few of them. There are lesser creatures, as well, such as succubi and soul eaters, the demonic little girls that appeared in the premiere.

Though Dis looks like some kind of acidic fever dream, it has the spirit of a dystopian world where mankind (in some form or another) is on its own. There have been world wars like no other, and they’ve left this realm alone and fending for itself in a chaotic stew of sex and violence. And by the issue’s end, it looks like a police procedural is gearing up.

I haven’t explained the plot at all—I’ve only listed some of my observations and beliefs about where the book has been and where it is going. I apologize for that, but I don’t know what else to say. I certainly hope that creators Kramek and Goodovich have not laid out some intricate plot, because if they have, it’s totally lost on me. And yet, that’s part of the fun.

While I can’t confidently recommend Ned the Chainsaw Guy to everyone, it shouldn’t be passed over, either. How’s that for vague?