Writers: Matt Evans and Andrew Helinski
Art and Lettering: Nate Burns

This is the first time I’ve reviewed a comic that isn’t by Marvel or DC, which is an interesting change. White Devil is a new comic, and the creators have made their first issue available for free over at their website, so if you like what you read here, go and check it out!

Hit the break for the review.

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White Devil begins as the story of a housewife caring for her family. She has a husband, a son and a daughter, and everything seems to be hunky dory. We follow her through a typical day, as she prepares dinner, tells her husband not to hit on her in front of the children, and then heads off for a book club with a friend, which is where everything gets a bit freaky. Having lulled you into a false sense of security, the second half of the book totally throws you through a loop and will definitely leave an impression.

The juxtaposition of the books two distinct halves works very well, with their total opposite subject matter making sure that the reader will remember what occurred for sure. Whereas the first half is fairly placid and basic, the second half is very involved and…well, disturbing. Without spoiling the issue, there’s some very odd stuff going on in the second half of the issue which is a complete departure from the earlier goings on. It promises a lot of craziness in issues to come, and leaves enough questions hanging that the reader will want to know just what the hell is going on.

On the other side of things, the issue is well crafted in terms of panels and layout, with some nice variation between pages, as well as some clever use of white space that allows for some creepy imagery to be added in throughout and increase the ominous tone of the issue. The art is crisp, and the use of shading is effective, showing good knowledge of light sources and how to create dramatic tension. The entire issue is in black and white bar one splash of colour (and the cover), and this makes the one instance all the more memorable.

The weakest part of the issue is the lettering, which alternates between small and difficult to read in the caption boxes, to the speech bubbles which seem to have been typed with a typewriter. I’m not sure how more mainstream comics are lettered, but the words make up half of the storytelling technique, and having the reader squint to work out exactly what’s happening isn’t a great idea, since it takes them out of the story. A more consistent typeface, or perhaps just a larger font would easily remedy this.

Overall, White Devil is an intriguing concept that will stay with me for a while yet. The two halves of the story are totally opposed, and using them together is a clever way to make sure that the reader wants to know where we’re going next. Despite some minor difficulties, the art and presentation of the issue is off to a good start, and with a few tweaks will be perfect. I look forward to seeing where it goes next, and am anxiously anticipating a second issue.

GO Rating: 3/5

[White Devil]