Review: The Squidder #3

A gut-wrenching, tear-jerking look back into the Squidder’s past opens up Templesmith’s best book yet in The Squidder series. The scene evokes a twist on one of the most classic scenes in movies: Princess Leia telling Han Solo she loves him right before he is frozen in carbonite. Solo’s response: “I know.” However, Templesmith turns this idea on its head when the Squidder is forced to put a bullet through his wife’s head before she turns into a mindless Squid drone. Upon putting his wife out of her misery the Squidder realizes, “At the end, she never said she loved me.” The scene arguably has more emotional gravitas than Han and Leia and draws you into the character.

Templesmith does not stop with a twist on powerful movie themes. He gives us a glimpse into the politics of the Squid as well as explaining the Dark Father’s true purpose and the Squid’s overarching goals for humanity and the universe. The politics of the Squid look a whole lot like Agent Smith and the Matrix. Queen Unit 59B yearns to be free of the central sentience and believes the Squidder holds the key to this freedom.

The strangest and most bizarre twist Templesmith incorporates is the myth of King Arthur and his sword, Excalibur. There are tales the Lady of the Lake gave Excalibur to Arthur; however, Templesmith takes this to a whole new level. The Squidder receives a sword from a lady, notably Seph the Squid priestess, but only after completing a very sensual ritual and birthing process. The scene is shocking, creepy, and awesome all at the same time.

While Templesmith’s writing and story-telling take the forefront in this book, his artwork is still fantastic. He takes us from a gray drab landscape to snow-covered tundra to the mind of the Squid. The way he creates clouds as circular shaped smudges highlights the desolate, dying world the Squidder occupies. At some point, the smudges are no longer representing clouds but take the form of snow or are smaller and darker resembling ash. Templesmith really does an excellent job with his use of colors from using reds and oranges in a passionate love-making scene to greens and blues when depicting Queen Unit 59B.

However, some of the battle scenes are a little hard to follow with Templesmith’s pencil sketch art style. Is that the Squidder’s entrails flowing out of his stomach or is that his boot stomping on someone’s head? At one point Seph seems to take a massive blow from the Squid, with blood spraying from her left shoulder, but in the next panel the Squidder is complimenting her combat technique. Apparently, it was the Squid’s blood spraying across the panel and not hers.

Lastly, Templesmith’s lettering is excellent. The reader knows full well who is talking based on both the color of the text as well as the color of the speech bubbles. The Squidder and Seph have normal white/cream colored bubbles with black text, Queen Unit 59B has black bubbles with green text, and the Squid mother has red bubbles with black text.

8.0	Templesmith weaves a wonderful, gruesome tale combining a number of twists on popular fantasy and mythological themes. His artwork and coloring is once again solid despite some confusion in combat sequences.

Review: The Squidder #2

Shifting focus from world building and brutal action scenes in the opening book, Ben Templesmith instead turns to developing an intriguing and complex story centered on character development. He introduces a number of new characters which help drive the story and push the Squidder upon his hero quest.

The first character Templesmith introduces is the Squid Priestess, a pawn used by the gangs to obtain power. However, she is much more than first described. Her conversations with the Squidder are the main focal point of the entire book and allow the reader to experience the emotional suffering of both her and the Squidder. The dialogue also exposes the Squidder’s driving motivation, his hate for the Squid, which in this reviewer’s opinion is really only a mask for his love of humanity embodied in the haunting visions of his wife Fiona.

The other two characters Templesmith introduces are members of the Squid, the first being Queen 59B and the second being the Dark Father. These two characters ooze evil in how Templesmith has drawn them. Queen 59B takes the appearance of a humanoid with horns sprouting from her head and spikes protruding from her back. These do not take away from her soft, feminine features, which remind one of a succubus. The Dark Father is the opposite of Queen 59B in that he is a mass of tentacles and eyes hanging from a ceiling. Some of the tentacles flow down taking the shape of a skinless human with two massive horns arising from his skull. Not only are these creatures creepy to look at it, but humans are merely playthings to them. At one point, Queen 59B gifts the Dark Father a decapitated head, which is still screaming, pleading to be killed. The Dark Father adds the head to a growing mass of human flesh he refers to as “our masterpiece.”

Templesmith intersperses the character development with a glimpse into the past of Earth and the battles before hope was lost, as well as some action sequences with the Squidder. The action sequences, though not as shockingly brutal, still hit home when the Squidder decapitates a man with sniper rifle. A battle weakness is also revealed in a skirmish with the local gang when Templesmith draws his intestines flowing out of his stomach.

One of the weaknesses of the story is Templesmith’s use of a prophecy involving the Squidder, making him unique not because of genetic experimentation or his combat prowess, but because of an over-arching divine plan. The introduction of the prophecy is also a tad confusing when the Squidder has two very different reactions, one matter-of-fact and the second anger, all in the same panel.

7.3	Templesmith’s artwork once again steals the show; however the character development and the emotional connection to the Squidder are a close second.

Review: The Squidder #1

Ben Templesmith explores a dystopian world, where Earth has been conquered by an alien force known as the Squid. Surviving in this might-makes-right world is the last or one of the last Squidders, a genetically engineered man built specifically for the war.

The beginning of the book exemplifies Templesmith’s ability for world-building, showcasing a truly creepy ritual sacrifice of a young village girl to the Blessed Dark Father and the Blessed Squid Queen. The sacrifice is made in order to end a cycle, and does the cycle of life ever end for the village as the squids rain down fire and brimstone completely obliterating the village, leaving black smoke in their wake.

Templesmith doesn’t stop with exposing the reader to a harsh, unforgiving world but takes it a step further by introducing the Squidder, a man haunted by his past and his desire for death. Fortunately, he wants his death to be at the hands of a worthy opponent in combat, and there aren’t many if any worthy to satisfy his desire. The Squidder is not all brooding, but a bona fide badass who self-professes to have forsaken every principle he once had. Although this is questionable since he definitely vilifies those who associate and collaborate with the Squid.

There are other issues with this book including a spelling error when Templesmith is describing the Squidder’s regenerative abilities, as well as at one point it is extremely difficult to read the text as it blends in with the artwork. The Squid themselves resemble Reapers from Mass Effect and their symbol is all too similar to Hydra. There are also some odd plot issues as you get further into the book.

At one point, the Squidder is resting in a cabin when he is approached by a gang of ne'er-do-wells. Templesmith uses the encounter to show off the Squidder’s combat abilities as well as his intuitiveness and observation skills. Unfortunately, in what appears to be an attempt on his life is in reality an attempt to recruit him for a job.

At the other end of the spectrum, the artwork really does the story justice. The dark reds and oranges combined with the edgy penciling create an absolutely brutal world. Highlighting the brutality is a panel where the Squidder is fending off the hired thugs and he slams his oversized boot into the face of one—smashing it into bits, popping the eye out of the socket and crumpling his jaw. Meanwhile, he is blasting another with his pistol completely obliterating the attacker’s face. He even pulls off the Mountain finisher from Game of Thrones.

The Squidder introduces the reader to Mr. Hitchins, a Squidder, and his journey through a post-apocalyptic Earth as he deals with gang lords, the Squid, his dead wife, and his own desire for a worthy death.

7.1	An intriguing world and antihero portrayed through exceptional artwork that is held back by odd plot choices and some all too similar stylistic choices.