SLAUGHTER HAWK VOLUME 1

'Corporatism has a new foe' reads the tagline on this brand new IP set to launch officially this September. It looks like David Broughton (Solomon Kane, Spectre Show) certainly knows who the real bad guys are, and he has delivered a new hero for us poor, downtrodden masses.

Impressively bound, Slaughter Hawk volume 1 sees Broughton take a step up in the self publishing world. The solid spine means this and future instalments will sit nicely on a bookshelf rather than iside a comic box, and whilst it isn't cheap you can see where the money has gone. Broughton handles everything himself, as befits a true veteran of the self publishing world and, as ever, it's a pretty solid read.

In a near future where the Unites Corprorate States Of America shits over a growingly disgruntled populace, a mysterious vigilante fights against Da Man. Why does he do it? Dunno. Who is he himself working for? Dunno. Where does he get his wonderful toys? From inside his secret submarine base, naturally. His futuristic suit has all sorts of lovely, violent upgrades that allow him to spill the blood of corporate lackeys, and Broughton delights in what can only be described as really fun violence, with some rather sweet action sequences and plenty of claret.

This 48 page, high quality introduction to Slaughter Hawk is destined to be a guilty pleasure.Whilst not that innovative it retains a charm that's undeniable, boosted by a smart, easy to follow story and Broughton's always welcome clear, uncluttered art. As with any decent story about power mad corporations you can imagine Bad People doing exactly what they do in the book, and that makes it all the sweeter and enjoyable. I zipped through this quite quickly, pausing to take in the exposition that effectvely creates a bleak world. For the most part I had a smile on my face, though, as Slaughter Hawk is a serious comic that manages to be plenty of fun at the same time. The biggest compliment I can pay is that at the end I wanted to pick up another issue straight away to see what happens and learn more about the protagonist and the world he inhabits.

After many years of grinding away at the cliff face, David Broughton may just have stumbled accross a winner with Salughter Hawk, so do yourself a favour and check it out.

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