The final issue of Dellec comes out this week and I had a chance to catch up on the entire series before the last issue hit. The most noticeable thing that stood out to me with this series is that it never really takes a leap of faith which is funny since it deals with religion a lot. It talks a big game, but there is never any sense of danger for the protagonist and plot and story get lost in the concept. The series starts off strong, but when it hits the fourth issue it spirals out of control. Unfortunately the last issue doesn’t redeem it since it's too far gone.
The series is about a man named Dellec that can hear the voice of God talking to him. His destiny is not in his hands as he must don the weapons passed down through time since Jesus’ death. The weapon is two green glowing sticks that… glow. The sticks really didn’t seem to do anything other than that, they didn’t kick more asses or protect Dellec against anything and they sure as hell don’t help him overcome evil in the end.
We're not very far into the review, but stop here if you don't want any spoilers... this is your only warning!
Dellec is on the pilgrimage of ass kicking after his wife’s heart is ripped out in front of him by some demon or fallen angel, really she’s never explained. Either she works for God or against him, but again it doesn't matter. After his wife's death Dellec can hear the voice of God and must fulfill his destiny. Of course the evil chick, whose name is just as forgettable as she is as a character, knows that Dellec is destined for more when she kills his wife. Whoa major plot hole! See he can’t hear the voice until his wife dies and that’s why she’s killed, but his ultimate destiny is to die! So his wife is killed because he’s neglecting his destiny of dying, but when evil chick can easily kill him she doesn’t… because he’s neglecting his destiny… did I mention plot hole?
At any rate, while Dellec is searching for the evil chick before he dies, he becomes a vigilante against a gang calling themselves the Kong’s. They dress like monkeys and it’s strange and stupid, but still kind of awesome when you see it on the page. All the while, evil chick is collecting souls. For who, or what, never said. Just that she’s in charge of doing it. What’s she use them for? To save Dellec in issue five from the Kong’s… so that he can fulfill his destiny.
Let’s jump back again though. From the zero issue to issue three there is a natural progression of the story, but at the end of issue three Dellec is framed for being a serial killer. Issue four shows him in an artic prison and he’s forced to figure out how to escape so he can once again go after the evil chick. This issue completely breaks the pacing and does absolutely nothing for the story. If anything it draws out the series and completely changes the landscape of the plot. After Dellec’s “fall from grace” he must find and battle the evil chick. Never mind the serial killer that set him up that was sent by her that’s still out there, never mind that he’s an escaped convict with nowhere to go and not enough time to return to his former glory and never mind that suddenly the cop on the case “has a bad feeling about the verdict”, three months after the sentencing.
Everything in this story is just unconnected thoughts that are loosely held together by Dellec’s destiny, which is until you see what his destiny is and then nothing makes any sense. The priest in the story seems to know everything and yet he doesn’t help with anything. He knows about Dellec, but he did nothing to prevent it and Dellec doesn’t acknowledge that fact at all. In fact, he relies on him and trusts him more after his wife’s death and if it were me I wouldn’t trust a person that could have prevent someone’s death and didn’t. The priest is just one of many things wrong with this series.
I think the biggest problem is that it tries to do too much within six issues. Perhaps that’s why there’s such a huge shift at the end of the third issue going into the fourth. It was as if the writer’s knew the story was too big and had to trim it, which was the wrong thing to do. Several other companies have had success in telling a larger story in smaller series and really that’s what was needed here. What ends up happening is a story with all talk and the wrong type of action delivered.
Writers Vince Hernandez and Frank Mastromauro may not have put together a convincing story, but artist Micah Gunnell does a great job from beginning to end with the series. His art literally makes up for a lot of the story. Gunnell draws several action intense scenes throughout the series and each one of them is heavily detailed and fun to read. His art literally makes you forget how bad the story is at times. He also came up with the character designs as well, which is more memorable than most of the character names. I couldn’t be bothered to remember the character’s names outside of Dellec, but I knew who there were based on the art. This is a good book for Gunnell as he gets to flex his artistic muscles and really shine above the story. His work on Executive Assistant: Orchid is good and gory, but lacks a lot of the finer details that this series has. That’s due in part to how different the writing and stories are so really there is something good to say about the writing after all.
Maybe if I hadn’t slammed through the entire series in one sitting this book and final issue would have sat better with me, but it really it came off rushed and lacking direction (which again is funny since I believe it was heavily delayed). Hernandez may be a good publisher/EIC, but he needs to surround himself with people that can rein him in when he’s writing. The story doesn’t end with this series, so if they do pursue a second series I hope that they’ll flush out what they want to accomplish with the story before focusing so much on explaining the world that they’ve created. I hate to say it, but this is an art book, pretty pictures and an average to below average "Weapon of God" story that doesn’t stand out from the gang of characters that Top Cow keeps in its stable. If you've been following the book then finish the series by picking up the sixth issue out now.
Score: 2/5
Publisher: Aspen Comics