A quick note about ‘Genecy’ #1 – although this issue came out in 2009, we’re reviewing it now because the creators of the comic book – Invision Comics – are using the kickstarter.com program to fund issue #2. So, check out our review and the following link, Invision Kickstarter, and see if you might want to be part of the adventure.
When Cincinnati comic book creator, publisher and owner of InVision Comics, Gerald Cooper describes his comic book Genecy he likes to say: “Genecy is like Conan becoming the Silver Surfer after being a slave on Apokolips.”
The story takes place on an alien world, as an enslaved people try to escape their masters. Before the rebel leader dies, he hands over a Key of immense power to a survivor named Kaizaax, who is then transported to a strange and far away temple. There he battles hordes of monsters and ancient warriors to prove his worth. Once he proves he is worthy, he is confronted by a massive giant from before recorded history, who offers him the power to free his people and defeat his evil masters by fusing with the giant and becoming Genecy!
I read through Genecy twice before I was able to sit down to write this review. When you read this book the first thing you notice is the amazing artwork of illustrator Eddy Barrows as colored by Tim Ogul and Oren Kramek. The art in Genecy really reminds me of the old CrossGen book ‘Scion’. The art also helps set the tone for this epic story, the first several pages are huge splash pages showing men chained to giant columns, explosions and a huge battle of escaping slaves. The cover alone would make a great print to frame and hang on your wall.
Unfortunately, as good as the artwork is in Genecy, the story itself left me lacking. I’m not so sure the world is ready for the mash-up of Conan and the Silver Surfer (Marvel kind of explored this concept with the Silver Savage in the Planet Hulk story event). The confusion starts from page one, when you have a couple of dialogue boxes, not attributed to anyone. I wasn’t sure if this narration was the voice of the old man in the hood or the angry looking fellow chained to the wall. This kind of sets the tone for the rest of the book, it is not until around page 8 when you get the first real dialogue balloons.
I really had a hard time connecting with the beginning of the book and it totally effected how I felt about the remaining chapters. I really wanted to be shown why Kaizaax is the hero of this story, why is he the chosen one? I don’t get why he was put through the trials of having to beat a Lord of the Rings-esque horde of demons and monsters, only to have his final foe insist Kaizaax is unworthy of facilitating the rebirth of Raknirod. We are also treated to a long-winded diatribe by Raknirod telling us his life story. This story culminates in Kaizaax receiving some cosmic powers to become Raknirod’s Genecy, with all the powers he will need to exact his revenge.
I want to commend the folks at InVision for publishing this comic, and perhaps if they can move forward with a second issue the story can be fleshed out a little more to help clear up some of the early confusion. Perhaps rather than trying to be a total mash-up of several popular comic book characters, Genecy can be shown as a hero all his own protecting the weak from harm and slavery.
Rating: 4/10 (maybe a continuation will help the storytelling)
