The Anchor: Ambitious new comic series begs to be read

There are those that like comic books the way they like heavy metal: dark, complex, gruesome and divine. At times, biblical and always epic. They want a hero (a term we use loosely) bathed in blood and born in fire. They want more than just the tights and fights that fill the shelves of local comic book stores. What they want is a comic book like The Anchor.

From writer Phil Hester and artist Brian Churilla comes this new series that can be hard to sum up, and that’s a good thing. The first issue leaves the reader with a lot of questions and few answers. It’s known that the title character, the Anchor, is a guy in two places at once. His soul is in hell, placed there with the holy duty of guarding the exit to make sure that nothing comes crawling out. His body, on the other hand, seems to roam the earth in search of demons to pummel.

Clearly, there is a larger story at work here. The big picture is slowly unfolding, and so far it seems attention-worthy.

Hester gives a top-notch story and what might be the most bad-ass first four pages of a comic book this year. His pacing is pitch perfect; you can’t turn the page fast enough.

Churilla’s art only adds to the story as he works with a heavily-stylized, almost cartoony look that, for what ever reason, just works. He gives the Anchor a look that is awesomely unique; somewhere in the realm of a Hercules/Captian Ahab hybrid. Now close your eyes and imagine said hybrid punching a giant ice monster in the face and then ripping out it’s heart and eating it. Cool stuff, right?

In the back of the first issue, Hester asks the readers to spread the word if they dig The Anchor. Well, I dig it.