By Dustin Cabeal
Look, I know that not everyone has heard or read stories from the Bible, but if you have, even the basic outline of a verse… then Judas is a boring read. There is no secret history being added, just more character development for Judas… and not much.
The reason being that so much of the story is just an illustrated version of the Bible. The amount of new content feels incredibly small, and that’s where the story disappoints. Frankly, tackling Judas’ role in Jesus’ death and his time with Jesus should be interesting. It’s mostly vague as he doesn’t have a chapter in the Bible. Yet the character Judas does very little in his own book. Lucifer and Jesus doing 80% of the talking in this issue. It’s only in the last three pages that Judas’ narration kicks into high gear and by then it feels painfully obvious where the story is going. I’m going to spoil it for you because it is the only thing worth mentioning in this comic and even then, it's scrapping the barrel. Judas is going to save Jesus from the darkest pits of hell… why? Because that was his real role all along… or not. Who knows. If there is a huge twist in the fourth issue, it won’t have been worth reading.
The dullness of the first issue was forgivable. The second issue, not so much. This third issue… it’s somehow duller than the first two combined. The writing does very little. It doesn’t flesh out the characters or even attempt to add anything to them. Again, not even the title character. A character that is practically a blank slate and yet feels show emptier by the end of this issue.
The art is good. You could look at the art all day, but it’s never once in charge of the story. It’s not telling the story so much as it’s following along with the dialogue. By this third issue, the designs and the setting have worn thin. There are a few really good panels, but overall, it’s just as dull as the writing.
Usually, I say a lot more in my reviews. I hate short reviews, but with Judas, there’s hardly anything to talk about. I’m surprised when I reach the ending of an issue because I usually spend the entire time wondering when something is going to happen instead of a visual Bible retelling, but with Lucifer’s added commentary. It’s a four-issue series, so I’ll finish it at this point, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
Score: 2/5
Judas #3
BOOM! Studios