Merc: Broken World #1 (Zenescope – Brown / Schneider)
Fifty years in the future the world has become a strange blend of advanced technology interwoven with a seedy and gritty underbelly. And this world is where you will find a Merc named Sonny Gris .
Merc debuts on the 20th and as a series is completely a new direction for the creative braintrust that is Zenescope Entertainment. Merc chronicles a dark future where there has been ecological disaster and a plague has devastated humanity. The day to day infrastructure of society are mandated by either corporations or gangs. Greed and selfishness are the mainstays and organ transplants and body upgrades are commonplace.
Newcomer Jerrold E. Brown present this tale with has the familiar feel of cyberpunk and has story element familiar to those who like the genre. The characters are knowable archtypes and the plot does go go down familiar roads, but Brown still gives it an edge to it that makes me think it worth checking out more issues. Daniel Schneider is the artist and shines on some pages and drops the ball on others. His work shows potential, but it’s pretty inconsistent even within this single issue going from high detail and glamour to quick and blobby.
Merc#1 is decent for a freshmen attempt, but needs some work in the next few issues for it to reach what it’s capable of.
Issue grade: C+
Hey this Dan the artist from this series,
I just wanted to say thanks for the review! You guys did a great job and I hope to impress you with the coming issues