Reviewed by Taylor Hoffman // @taylorcheckers
The upcoming Young Terrorists from Black Mask Studios is a call to action, a creation of pure passion, and a damn terrifying look into a seedy world that can’t be ignored. Matt Pizzolo (Godkiller, Threat, Occupy Comics) and Amancay Nahuelpan (Boy-1, Robocop) construct an intricate universe just a half-step away from our own where greed and paranoia rule through techniques of pure tortures. Mixing the shady politics of House Of Cards and the unyielding revenge-fueled spirit behind The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Young Terrorists is a stand out political thrill ride that focuses on the darkest corners of corruption.
Story by: Matt Pizzolo
Art by: Amancay Nahuelpan
Publisher: Black Mask Studios
Cover Price: $6.99
Release Date: 8/5/15
Young Terrorists is a rightly provocative title, but don’t dismay, this isn’t about an ISIS recruitment camp or a Holy Terror sequel. It’s about a different type of terrorism, one that infects through systematic abuses of power supported by a culture of fear-mongering and misinformation. Sera is a brilliant young woman, but as the daughter of an assassinated globalist kingpin, she’s thrown into a remote internment camp where she’s constantly been tortured for the sins and secrets of her father. Over the years, she’s been forced to literally fight for her life against other prisoners, but now it’s time for the tables to turn. She and a few others escape that hell and dedicate their lives to fighting the oppressions brought on by mega-corporations and helping those most disenfranchised by the dehumanizing systems in place.
Through this task of getting off the government-watch grid, we meet more of those beaten up by those unrightfully in charge and learn about their horror stories. Meanwhile, Infocide’s Christopher Johanssen, think Bill O’Reilly and his chalkboard taken to a new extreme, attempts to piece together the far reaching and tight grasp of control, but from the opposite perspective. Despite their different motivations, each storyline is a path to finding the truth behind the power. It’s a mystery about surveillance as much as an action thriller about survival. Moreover, it’s an intelligent exploration of several intersections of oppressions and objectification through some extra clever plot points mainly involving the unique power of the internet.
Black Mask Studios has never been shy about putting politics at the forefront of their comics and nor should they ever hold back. Just like other titles from them like Critical Hit and Liberator In the forward, Pizzolo shares his very intense experiences with Washington lobbyists revolving their attempt to disrupt distribution of the documentary Your Mommy Kills Animals, which gives a fascinating look into the strange events that inspired making this comic a reality. While the two subjects of activism aren’t the same, the point is clear that the label of a “young terrorist” is reserved for the ones who want the truth of a power structure exposed and are willing to fight for that knowledge.
It’s a richly beautiful and complicated comic made even more impressive by Nahuelpan’s art that captures a gritty anger and ugliness of the world with such sharp lines within outstanding panel composition. At just seven bucks, this first issue is basically a steal for more than 80 pages of serious entertainment. The biggest threat to the insidious chokehold of the objectifying oppressor is self-awareness on the part of the oppressed, so do your part: open your eyes and read this book. If there’s some list you’re put on for buying this, then it’ll probably just prove the government’s afraid of education and comics. Totally worth it.
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Taylor’s a Valkyrie at Black Cat Comics in SLC, UT. Follow her on twitter @taylorcheckers for cute chinchilla pictures and more about comics.