By Dustin Cabeal

I had no idea that this comic was based on a song. I didn’t know there was a band called The Clay People either. I learned both things at the end of the comic and while it didn’t change anything for me, it may be information that another reader could use before deciding to purchase this one-shot from Top Cow.

I have read this story in different forms, with different lead characters dozens of times. There is something to this story that is searching for an interesting outlet, and I can see the broad appeal to using it. Afterall a clay golem that Jewish people can use for justice/revenge and stems back to World War II feels like a treasure trove of potential stories. Yet, they all pretty much end up like this one-shot.

Our main character is half-Asian and Jewish. He’s a military brat and has landed in a small town and is being picked on by racist pricks. When I say picked on, it’s pretty intense. Guns are flashed, bums are killed. It leads our main character to go and visit his Zaide (grandfather) and unloading about all the things he can’t tell his parents. This is of course after a very graphic journey to a concentration camp in which we seem a younger Zaide (his real first name isn’t used) getting a book on how to create clay golems. Now we know who has the book and who needs the book. Zaide asks his grandson to stay with him while he sleeps and passes shortly afterward. Most likely, you can figure out the rest of the story or will enjoy reading it to figure out the rest.

Not knowing that this was based on a song, I was particularly annoyed by the lyrics running through the comic. I didn’t know the song and they didn’t really seem to match the pages they were on or elevate the story. To be honest, I ignored them about halfway through the issue and found it to be a better reading experience. Which is probably not something Matt Hawkins or The Clay People want to hear, but it’s how I enjoyed it.

As far as golem stories about kids getting books from their passing grandfathers, this is one of the better ones. I liked that it didn’t shy away from the atrocities of the Holocaust and was a stern reminder of the horrors the Nazi’s committed during World War II. If you disagree with any of that, then please stop reading this review and go fuck yourself. Anyway, Michael, the main characters journey is interesting and writer Matt Hawkins explains in the notes at the back that he pulled from several life experiences from himself and his family. The strength of the story is the fact that it’s a one-shot issue. If it was an ongoing series where we follow Michael and his golem, I would bail out instantly. Instead, there’s a rewarding conclusion to the story.

The artwork is decent. It’s not a driving force behind the success of the story and at times its quite powerful. The children, just struggle to look like children. There’s a joke about one of them being twenty and still in high school, but I thought the character was in his thirties. Michael sometimes looks like a kid, other times he looks like short guy still living with his parents. Faces in general lack a lot of detail which leads to the inconsistency in the ages of characters. The coloring is gritty and adds to the tone of the book, but the linework is thick and messy. During the WWII setting it works quite well, but in the high school cafeteria, not so much.

If you’ve never read a story like this before and this is your first, then give it a shot. It won’t be the last you’ll stumble upon as the idea rolls back around every few years as a new creator gives it a shot. I’d imagine that if you’re a fan of the band then you’ll definitely find interest in reading the issue though I found the tie-in to be pretty much just the song lyrics that you could ignore. While it didn’t feel like anything particularly new, it’s a well put together story.

Matt Hawkins
Christian Dibari
Simon Gough
Troy Peteri
Top Cow

Score: 3/5