Review: Static Ladder

Our main advantage is knowledge.

But as it was said that ignorance is bliss and knowledge is power... 

The truth of it is that knowledge is great sorrow... 

Static Ladder by writer Daniel Christian Green and artist Joseph Howard Grant is a classic tale of the eternal war between the forces of good and evil, centred around the archetype monomyth hero who - originally an Average Joe - suddenly has greatness (and destiny) thrust upon him.

The back story here is the biblical legend of fallen angels who seduce human women, producing monstrous offspring (the Nephilim). These demonic hybrids war amongst each other, vying for the control of the Earth and threatening the existence of humanity itself.

Our narrator, the angel of death, makes a bargain with the Creator and forges a holy sword that will kill any demon. Even in the hands of a mortal, no supernatural beast can survive its blow.

Our hero, Tony Block, wakens from a vision of his wife (very beautiful, but also very dead) to an ambush in the desert. Three gunmen set their sights on him. His friend is killed, he is disfigured... and, falling to the ground, he sees a sword in a skull...

Thus the scene is set for the beginning of an epic saga, with many tantalising questions arising in the process. How did Block's wife die? Who is the mysterious child and can he save her in time?  Why has he been chosen as the new Caretaker of the sword?

Grant's artwork is finely detailed with many classical themes, giving this a high quality sheen. Realistic human figures clash with the phantasmagorical. The colour palette is tastefully restrained - until the time for bloodshed arrives, at which point claret is applied liberally, of course. There is much close focus on characters' faces, revealing subtle shades of emotion skilfully conveyed... merging seamlessly into the surreal as the veil of reality is savagely ripped open by dark forces.

From misty, dreamlike beginnings, our hero's story launches into nightmare territory. A nightmare from which there can be no escape because he has only just awakened.

Zak Webber