For all of his popularity, Jesus doesn’t come across as a nice guy in the fourth issue of Big Dog Ink’s fantastic Penny for Your Soul miniseries. Sure, he oozes piety and brags about his care for all of creation’s children, but it’s hard to stomach after awhile. This isn’t just my opinion: the devilish Danica has more than a few gripes with the fruits of God’s loins, and she’s not afraid to tell him a thing or two about them.
Danica’s lifestyle has finally caught up with her: for countless years she’s been siphoning off souls from both heaven and hell in order to staff her Eternity Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. What she’s exactly up to is still a mystery, but I suspect she’s simply trying to establish herself as an independent business woman (not to mention cosmic entity) aside from her heritage and the part she’s expect to play in the upcoming war to end all wars. It’s a story we can all relate to when rationally considered.
In the third issue of the miniseries, Christ popped up in Vegas to begin the preliminary work of saving souls for his rapture that whisk all of God’s righteous away from earth before it turns into a heavenly (or is it hellish?) battlefield. Danica objects—Vegas is hers and not the territory of heaven’s sniveling son. Compacting the situation is Jesus’ tenuous relationship with Danica’s right-hand gal, Mary “Maggie” Magdalene, who is one of the most level-headed women I’ve read in comics for quite some time.
Danica eventually assaults Jesus in a fit of rage, which winds her up in the slammer; this is where the current issue picks up. Writer Tom Hutchison dreams up an Oz scenario for incarcerated women, a scenario that works quite well. In fact, it’s empowering when Danica deals with a sexually abusive prison guard who uses his nightstick for vile reasons. I’ve mentioned in the past that I could see Hutchison being marred with charges of sexism because of the first-glance impression the book gives. But never would such a charge hold up, as this scene demonstrates why I am right and any objectors are wrong.
Issues past have proven Hutchison’s powerful talent for storytelling. His narrative flow is seamless. Several plot threads are adeptly handled, each one given the proper amount of time on the page. He also commands strict control over every panel and every word balloon appearing in print.
The same can be said for artist J.B. Neto and colorist Oren Kramek. Their work is as crafty and handsome as it has been in the three previous issues. When these three joined forces on this independent book, they all unleashed one hell of a product as the end result.
I’ve gotten to the point where I’m now repeating myself every time I reflect on Penny for Your Soul, but much pleasure is derived from that fact. This book has been consistently good for not only its original content, but also for being both courageous and edgy. Hutchison takes chances in his writing, and Neto and Kramek take those chances and give them bold visual life. I couldn’t be more pleased with a comic. This is the year’s best independent book.
This comic book review originally appeared on Broken Frontier on 24 November 2010.
