CHERRY BLACKBIRD #1 - 3 (Scout/Black Caravan, May-September 2021) A punk rocking Cherry made a deal with the devil, and now she’s approaching her 27th birthday when her soul is due. She’s given an option: find the recently escaped Seven Sins of Hell and send them back. Not an easy task, since “they’re all horribly evil . . .”
That’s the thrust established in Issue #1 and things get worse from there (not for us delighted readers, but for Cherry). As if to confirm that this is adults only content (the second printing was poly-bagged for those reasons) the opening pages of Issue #1 contain the most graphic (and phallic) images. I needed to sit down in a comfortable chair after viewing that scene in this new horror book from writer/artist Joseph Schmalke.
The tagline in promotions for CHERRY BLACKBIRD is “It’s the year of sex, drugs, & rock & roll . . . continuing to push the boundaries of good taste.” This series definitely makes good on its’ promises.
Cherry is the badass leader and singer/guitarist of Whore Of Babylon, a rock band whose most famous song is titled “Drug Satan Death Witch”. Many years back Cherry signed a contract with a devilish agent, and now she has one year left before payment is due in full on her 27th birthday (27 being a significant number in rock tragedies/early burnouts). The fly-infested emissary of the Devil has a deal to offer in exchange for a get-out-of-hell free card: find the seven demons who escaped from Hell and send them back. Cherry needs to send all seven back before her 27th birthday in order to get the pass.
Fortunately for Cherry, her bandmate/ex-lover Sunny knows a voodoo witch-doctor (Arnell) who trains and coaches them to go up against the worst demons.
As Issue #2 opens up, Cherry has 280 days remaining before the deadline and goes up against the first demon, Mavo of the icy hands of death, and defeats him with the assistance of chauffer-driven sedan occupied by a horned-goat like man (The Black Hen) and his female assistant (Red, of the dishwater blonde hair). The Black Hen resembles a shadowy horned character that experienced a painful emergence in Issue #1. (Hmmn, friend or secretly foe?) He leads them to the next demon, The Hessian, a Nazi warlock presiding over a white supremacy rally with KKK-robed disciples in the audience.
As Cherry gets deeper and deeper into the abyss of horror, she begins to undergo some personality changes, manifested in her eyes turning bright red.
By Issue #3, some of the demons are aware of Cherry’s mission and on guard, with the exception of one vampiric succubus (Miss Cocaine) who plots to take the fight directly to her. The trail leads to demonic drug dealer Mr. October as they face off at the end of the issue.
Three down, four to go. Days remaining: 155.
Colorful characters. Foul language. Gratuitous sex and violence, including dismemberment. Dark humor. Good show. Living up to the promise.
THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
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