Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • All The Rage: Sunday Night Heroes

      Jason Sacks
      August 13, 2006
      All the Rage
    Recent
    • Revisiting the Witchblade/Fathom/Tomb Raider Crossover

      Daniel Gehen
      February 8, 2021
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Superman: Champion of the Oppressed

      Jason Sacks
      May 31, 2020
      Columns, Comics Bulletin Soapbox, DC Comics
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Singles Going Steady 7/19/2017: Five Guys

      Jason Sacks
      July 25, 2017
      Action Lab Entertainment, Big Two Reviews, Black Mask, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Reviews, Singles Going Steady
    Recent
    • 4.0

      Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past

      Stephen Cook
      March 3, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 5.0

      Review: The One Trick Rip-Off + Deep Cuts

      Jason Sacks
      January 18, 2013
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • 2.3

      Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

      Daniel Gehen
      February 16, 2021
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Embracing Diversity in the Comics World: An Interview With Eden Miller of Comicsgirl

      Jason Sacks
      March 5, 2014
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Classic Interview: Bob Wiacek - "From the summer of ’74 to ’78 or ’79. Let’s call it ’78"

      Jason Sacks
      February 26, 2016
      Classic Interviews
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Occupy Comics receives new Collaborators

      Jason Sacks
      December 2, 2011
      News
    Recent
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • SAVAGE DRAGON IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 17, 2021
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • 'Will Eisner: Champion of the Graphic Novel' is a Great Tribute to the Master Cartoonist

      Jason Sacks
      May 23, 2017
      Books, Classic Comics, Classic Comics Cavalcade
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past
  • Collecting Profile: Blue Beetle
  • Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia
  • Collecting Profile: Kraven the Hunter
  • Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good
  • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Reviews

Of Bitter Souls v1: Saints and Sinners

Jason Sacks
August 30, 2006
Reviews
Of Bitter Souls v1: Saints and Sinners
3.5Overall Score
Reader Rating: (0 Votes)

“And the text goes on to say… After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. He said, ‘may the day of my birth not be included among the days of the year.’ You see, Job, as he experienced his trials and tribulations, had one major question, and that question is, ‘Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul?'”

George Parker, Lynette Story, Winston Fontenot and a girl known only as Jade are bitter souls. Their lives are unending misery. George is a crackhead, Lynette a grifter, Winston a corrupt policeman, Jade a professional in the sex trade. One man, Pastor Secord, saves all four of these people. He gives them powers, amazing superheroic powers. But more than that, he helps these people redeem their lives, regrow their souls, and fill their days with passion and selflessness and the fight to eradicate mystical evil from the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas. Light is given to their lives, and each of the four heroes begin to grow individuals and as a team. They fight vampires and mystical axe-murderers and skeletons and other nasty mystical menaces until the final chapter of this story, when they realize the true depth of the evil that exists in the world.

Of Bitter Souls is an ambitious and very interesting character study crossed with a straightforward and exciting super-hero comic. The characters are heroes, larger than life, but it’s a tribute to the quality of Satterlee’s writing that I found myself completely caught up in the characters in this story more than their heroic adventures. Though it’s impossible to separate one from the other, really: chapter two ends in a wonderful scene where George gets ghosts to leave a house that they had been haunting simply by talking with them. It’s a satisfying scene on several levels. Of course, a scene like this cuts against the grain of most heroic adventures. It also produces a wonderful scene where the other members of the team sit around bored waiting for a resolution. But more than that, the scene shows that George has grown as a person, has found some wisdom as he has pursued his new life.

What’s really satisfying is the humanity of these character in OBSs. The characters’ reactions seem to flow from their personalities rather than the need to advance a story. In one chapter, Lynette falls off the wagon and starts grifting again. Lynette even uses her power to turn back time to help her win thousands of dollars at a casino. However, when Lynette confronts her friends, she suddenly realizes how stupid she had been, and how much she had changed away from her old ways. Without a second thought, Lynette realizes that she betrayed herself, and turns her back forever from her grifter ways.

The most interesting character in the book for me is Jade, who takes the name Magz (short for Magdalena). Magz had been living a completely empty life, one in which she hated every minute of what had happened to her. When she meets Secord, it truly was like a gift from above from Magz. She very quickly becomes the most devout of the heroes, shaving her head and even donning a priest’s suit. Magz very quickly becomes smart, often wise, and becomes the heart and soul of the team. Magz changes dramatically as the book goes on, and her transformation is fascinating.

Everything coasts along very comfortably for the first five chapters. The characters are happy, the plot is proceeding nicely, everything seems copacetic. But in chapter six the story goes to a whole different level. The true enemy of our heroes is shown, and it makes their happy life much more complex and meaningful – not to mention scary. They also see the true nature of Pastor Secord, something that none of them expected, though something that was hinted at in the story in numerous clever ways. The heroes are all deeply shaken by sixth chapter, and so are we readers. How bitter will the battles be that our heroes need to fight, and how tough will the struggle be for them?

None of this would work at all without the terrific art by Norm Breyfogle. Breyfogle was a popular cartoonist in the ’80s and ’90s, drawing Batman for many years, but had fallen out of favor in the industry. In 2005 he returned to comics to draw Of Bitter Souls, and his art is even better than it had been back in the day. Breyfogle breathes life into his characters. Each of our heroes is complex and interesting people, and Breyfogle is terrific at conveying those personalities. He’s also wonderful at drawing the city of New Orleans, successfully bringing alive a Crescent City that may never life again. The Mardi Gras scene in chapter one really makes the city come alive again, and the graveyard scene in chapter four brings back the spooky charm of that very unique city.

Only the first several issues of this collection were published individually, which makes this collection especially wonderful. In this book, readers get several issues that were never published, bringing the first phase of the heroes’ lives to a nice conclusion. It’s a treat to read this collection, which also includes a host of extra features.

This is a super-hero comic with a wonderful twist. The heroes in this book are real heroes, men and women who fight evil because they crave redemption for their wretched lives. It’s a unique premise, beautifully conveyed by the team of Satterlee and Breyfogle.

 

Chuck SatterleeJason SacksMarkosiaNorm Breyfogle

Share On:
Tweet
American Virgin #5
Kingman’s Comics Corner: Week 8, Week 9, Week 10?and so on

About The Author

Jason Sacks
Publisher Emeritus

Jason Sacks has been obsessed with pop culture for longer than he'd like to remember. Jason has been writing for Comics Bulletin for nearly a decade, producing over a million words of content about comics, films and other media. He has also been published in a number of publications, including the late, lamented Amazing Heroes, The Flash Companion and The American Comic Book Chronicles: the 1970s and 1980s. Find him on Facebook and Twitter. Jason is the Owner and Publisher of Comics Bulletin.

Related Posts

  • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

    Mark Stack
    January 2, 2019
  • Top 10 Thoughts About Jack Kirby

    Jason Sacks
    August 28, 2017

Latest Reviews

  • 3.0

    Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

    Daniel Gehen
    February 22, 2021
  • 4.5

    Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

    Daniel Gehen
    February 19, 2021
  • 2.3

    Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

    Daniel Gehen
    February 16, 2021
  • 4.3

    Review: RADIANT BLACK #1 Shines Brightly

    Daniel Gehen
    February 12, 2021
  • 2.7

    Review: DEEP BEYOND #1 Can’t Commit to a Premise

    Daniel Gehen
    February 4, 2021
  • 2.0

    VINDICATION Falls Short of its Lofty Goals (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    February 1, 2021
  • 4.5

    DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    January 22, 2021
  • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

    Daniel Gehen
    December 14, 2020
  • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

    Daniel Gehen
    December 3, 2020
  • 4.5

    TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    October 29, 2020
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders