Deftly drawn and beautifully presented, Saints: The Book of Blaise never fails to impress. Its intricate plot involves new incarnations of Catholic saints. By turns poignant and snarky, this graphic novel--originally published as nine single-issue comic books--considers questions of faith, power and the corrupting influence of a godless and despairing Archangel Michael.
Blaise is a young heavy metal groupie with a mystical ability to heal anyone he lays hands on. He's pulled from his directionless existence and enlightened about his role as the incarnation of Saint Blaise by Sebastian, a saint who can shoot the iconic arrows that pierce his body. They head off in search of Saint Lucia, or Lucy, a young woman with candles in her hair, who uses the Earth itself as a weapon. The trio uncovers Michael's conspiracy to capture young people who exhibit saintly powers and bring forth the apocalypse.
The wry, blasphemous humor--which includes a divine painting of Jesus and several women, dubbed "Jesus Pimp" by Blaise--lends itself well to the graphic novel format. Saints is an epic of good versus evil, demons versus saints--and heavy metal. Illustrator Benjamin Mackey's color palette and line art bring the story to life, while Sean Lewis's narrative moves carefully, allowing readers fully to invest in the characters before the final conflict occurs, making for an engrossing read and visual feast. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor