Days Of Hate: Act One TP Comic Review
Summary: Seeming all too familiar and far too plausible, Days of Hate arguably warns of what could be.
4.3
Dystopian Now?
Days of Hate cuts close to the bone… really close… it’s basically draining the marrow close (ok so that’s gone past close and through). There’s no masking the inspiration for this work… it’s clearly the state of politics and the trend towards divisive methodologies. As such this comic seems far too likely to end up being prescient rather than fanciful. Hopefully people can learn the positives and stand up to injustice rather than watching as the few rise to absolute power while the weak are divided and conquered.
Writing
As if plucked from the current collective unconscious… the sense of unease, that freedoms are being removed and things are looking more and more bleak. But in this not too distant (or implausible) future there are still pockets of resistance… those who refuse to lay down and be trampled upon. There are elements of the story that will have you wondering whose side certain characters are on… but you get the general idea of who is fighting for justice and who is simply part of the authoritarian machine. There is a sense of duty on both sides of the war… with one side seemingly all the more desperate, but there is a notion that when you take everything from someone… they have nothing left to lose and they can be the most dangerous people.
Artwork
The artwork has a graininess to it that fits with the theme… it’s gritty, rough and perhaps a little uncomfortable. Why should the reader feel comfortable with the material when it deals with such bleakness? The colours are generally quite muted and the range of tones is kept to a minimum which both prevents distraction and helps to add to that sense of despair and oppression. There’s a fantastic sequence at the end of chapter 5, the pages are divided into three panels and each one is essentially a different view, three different locations… they all tick through the moments before a big event and it’s arguably the first time I have thought that reviewing via digital might be a benefit over physical (I typically prefer hard copies). This particular sequence works perfectly when the pages take up the whole screen on whatever you are viewing on… if you scroll through… almost flip book style… it is very nicely done.
Final Thoughts
If you liked Orwell’s 1984… this is along those lines, perhaps not quite so far into the dystopian nightmare… but well on the way. There is hope that the resistance might win… but it’s far from guaranteed and there is a lot to overcome to have any chance of seeing the light at the end of this very dark tunnel. If you are easily upset or not interested in global politics then maybe give this a miss… I could quite easily imagine people getting upset over this either just because of the material itself or for how close it is to our current reality. On the other hand if you are interested in global politics (or lets be more to the point… current American politics), then this may well be the comic you need at the moment. It’s not the laugh out loud therapy of a Late Night with Seth Myers take on the state of affairs… it’s more the newspaper of the underground style notice of what is going on. The revolution will not be televised… it will be distributed as a graphic novel!
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Ales Kot
Artist: Danijel Zezelj
Colourist: Jordie Bellaire
Cover Artist: Danijel Zezelj, Tom Muller
Genre: Political, Drama, Mature
Format: 180pgs FC, TPB
Release Date: 18th July, 2018
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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