The Scumbag #1
Written by: Rick Remender
Art by: Lewis Larosa
Image Comics
2020
“JAZZ APPLE ARMAGEDDON,” Part One The fate of the world rests in the hands of the worst person on it! NEW ONGOING SERIES from the writer of DEADLY CLASS! RICK REMENDER launches an all-new comedy espionage series, THE SCUMBAG—the story of Ernie Ray Clementine, a profane, illiterate, drug-addicted biker with a fifth-grade education. He’s the only thing standing between us and total Armageddon because this dummy accidentally received a power-imbuing serum, making him the world’s most powerful super spy. This new ongoing series will feature a murderers’ row of all-star artistic talent rotating each issue. The first issue showcases the stunning work of LEWIS LaROSA, with subsequent chapters and covers by brilliant talents such as ANDREW ROBINSON, ERIC POWELL, TULA LOTAY, WES CRAIG, ROLAND BOSCHI, SIMONE DI MEO, MARGUERITE SAUVAGE, DUNCAN FEGREDO, YANICK PAQUETTE, MIKE McKONE, DAVE JOHNSON, MORENO DINISIO, and many more!
The Scumbag #1 is an interesting tale. It’s about a terrible person, ugly in every sense of the word. And it spends most of its pages convincing the reader how terrible that person is, with very little of the story actually transpiring. But somehow, it immediately grabs your attention and it does not let up until that last frame. I can’t put my finger on exactly what works about it, but whatever it is, it is just right!
I normally do not enjoy a story with a character you can’t relate to. Even stories about villains have to have something human about them I can connect to, or I just don’t care. There is nothing to connect to here, but I still loved it. The titular scumbag is just awful, and does awful things on every page. There is nothing to love or admire in him, and there is no reason to care if he succeeds or not. But his story is such a spectacle that I couldn’t stop reading. I hated him, but I couldn’t put him down.
The artwork gives me practically the same feeling. I did not want to witness this world of filth. I did not want to see this scumbags pants around his ankles. And I DID NOT want to see him shitting all over the street! But I was so wrapped up in how well drawn every image is, and how well done the “camera” is, that I just kept turning pages! There is something so engaging in how vividly the scum is presented, that even as my stomach turned, I wanted more.
This book is not going to be for everyone. It’s not the kind of story most of us are used to seeing in comics, and it is absolutely not the kind of story I wanted to see in such detail. But if you look passed that, you may find a really well-written, well-drawn story of a miserable person just trying to live his life. He’s not happy about it, but what choice does he have? And for everything that happens once the action starts rolling, I can’t wait for issue #2.
Wallows in Ugly
As one might get from the name, The Scumbag is not a comic full of nice things and pleasant imagery. It's an ugly story about an horrible person, and I couldn't put it down. It wallows in filth so completely that it can't help but draw you closer. Not for the faint of heart, though!
Brian Reed
Brian has been reading comics since January, 1987, when the death of Optimus Prime rocked his young world. Once a regular presenter on The Nerdstravaganza Podcast, Brian now writes for Florida Geek Scene.
