Xombi #3 – Review

By: John Rozum (writer), Frazer Irving (artist)

The Story: I’m not crazy—you’re crazy if you think this skull in my hand isn’t also a laser gun!

The Review: The burden of most mainstream superhero comics comes from their constant need to deliver action to the readers—not necessarily physical fights between heroes and villains, but something obvious always has to be going on.  This trend doesn’t allow for much tackling of profound subjects except by chance, and then it often gets clumsy or superficial treatment.  But the best crafted comics revolve their plot around the message they want to get across.

Small wonder Rozum places right in the thick of this issue’s action a monologue from a ghost to a character who can’t tell himself if he’s dead or alive.  The ghost (the doomed James Church?) states it’s not just David’s Xombi status; it’s the tragic fact that most of the living don’t truly take advantage of life, the natural evolution of that old adage, “Youth is wasted on the young.”

Though slightly long-winded, the speech is nonetheless important not only in the context of the story, but for the series.  Besides the undeniable poignancy of the scene (“I wish I could smell the dew on the grass before I go,” the ghost says sadly in his last moments), it also gives our hero a deeply personal mission beyond whatever supernatural case he latches onto next.  The ghost’s farewell advice to David—and to us, essentially—is to stop regretting what he doesn’t have and cherish the overlooked treasures already before him.

Rozum smartly bookends the scene with the tense showdown between the freed Marantha and the supporting cast of Julian Parker, our Catholic ladies, and Rabbi Sinnowitz, who carry out their duties with experienced efficiency.  With everyone getting plenty to do, the issue feels rich and lively, especially since we also get to see David’s abilities in fairly gruesome action as he gets repeatedly mauled, only to run back into the fray seconds later.