Set in a world where the good guys are ‘capes’ and the bad guys ‘guns’, Jack Foster’s Gun:Slaughterball is one of the premier indie superhero series, thanks to it’s smart ‘villains-as-heroes’ approach, along with some of the most beautiful painted artwork you will see in comics.

Publisher: Reckless Eyeballs Press
Writer: Jack Foster
Artist: Jack Foster
Price: $5.99 from guncomic.com

For this latest issue, our hero Trevor ‘Mr Twist’ Werner is in the middle of a cross country Cannonball Run style race called ‘Slaughterball’ and has bumped into his old super powered flame Olive ‘Strong Arm’ Armstrong, along with another ex, who is making life rather tricky. After a big reveal at the end of issue #5, , we are treated to this flashback episode which sees Trevor encounter the mysterious Eve White and her altar ego Eva Destruction. It’s an ideal jumping on pint for new readers, and one which will entice you into picking up the rest of the series.

We’ll try not to give too much away, but this issue’s story sees us drawn into a surreal love triangle, which reminded us of the events in recent SelfMadeHero graphic novel Tumult as both use the same central idea.

However, Foster’s take on this concept is anything but derivative, and is just as fresh and unique as Tumult’s, thanks to the confidence he has developed in this characters in the first 5 issues of Gun all of which makes for a fantastically tense read.

Foster’s world of crazy super villains reminds us the brilliant Savage Dragon for it’s inventiveness with it’s characters, while the gritty and adult tone evokes Bendis and Oeming’s Powers. All of this is then rendered in the kind of sublime painted artwork that would make Alex Ross jealous – especially the sequences in the final third involving a dream-state. Aided by some of the slickest cover designs and layout you’ll see.

While other indie superhero books may hog the limelight, Gun: Slaughterball hides somewhat in the shadows, just like it’s lead characters. But don’t be fooled by it’s villainous tendencies, this is a truly heroic read and one of the finest indie superpower stories going!