Cherubs! (Dark Horse)

Script and Layouts: Bryan Talbot

The first Cherubs book came out in 2007 and, whilst a satisfying read on its own, it did not complete the tale. Due to the artist, Mark Stafford, having to work on the book when he could whilst he spent earned a living, the conclusion to the tale has only just seen print. Fortunately for the reader new to the story, the whole thing is now available from Dark Horse.

Cherubs concerns five cherubim, bored in heaven and desperate for something exciting to happen:

“Yeah! There's nothin' excitin'? No sex, no war, no crime, no violence, no sex...”

“Y-you mean like on Earth? Now that's a happenin' place, dude!”

“But we never get sent there anymore! Last time was durin' the Renaissance, y'know posin' for those Italian guys...”

The trouble is that they soon encounter some unwelcome excitement when they witness the archangel Abaddon murdering the Grand Council before heading down to Earth and framing them for it. In quick order they descend themselves, determined to find Abaddon and clear their names. Along the way they meet a “tart with a heart of gold”, are pursued by two seraphim enforcers who cannot be stopped, and encounter vampires, werewolves, zombies and other supernatural entities.

This book is packed with pop culture references, and it is great fun spotting them all, from Terminator and Dirty Harry through to Alan Moore and Ossie Osbourne, and many more in between. Some are obvious, some you don't immediately get, but it certainly feels good when you suddenly make the connection.

Mark Stafford's art was new to me, and it has a certain cartoonish, frenetic quality to it. There was an interview on the Comic Book Resources website (here) with Bryan Talbot where he mentions that the strip was informed by the anarchic British strips such as the Bash Street Kids by Leo Baxendale, and Stafford's art certainly lends it that sort of feel. The extras at the back of the book show a comparison of Bryan Talbot's initial layouts and Mark Stafford's subsequent pencils, and the difference, and the flavour that he brings to the art, is obvious.

Bryan Talbot delivers a tight, funny script that packs a lot in. There were periods in the first half where I felt my interest fading a little, but the final third is a complete triumph, and had me laughing out loud at several points. There is enough depth here to suggest that Bryan is criticising certain aspects of popular culture and modern life, but at heart what the script seems to want to really do is grab you by the balls and entertain the crap out of you, which it certainly does.

Overall, for a fun and entertaining read that you will find yourself returning to again and again, even if just for certain scenes where you see/read something and realise, “That's what that was!”.