The Anchor #1 (Boom! Studios)
by Phil Hester & Brian Churilla

I’m of two minds when it comes to this story. As I read the opening scene, which is set on a battlefield in Hell, I was completely put off, not by the barbarism of the demons or the violence, but by the stilted tone of the dialogue and narration. I always find such scripting puts too much distance between the subjects and the audience, and this was no exception. Once the story shifts its setting to the earthly plane, though, it gets to be a lot more fun. Seeing him fight giant monsters in a European city is far more entertaining than battles in Hell peppered with purple prose. Emergency volunteer Hofi Eriksdotter serves as a vital component in the story, as she provides a grounded link. Furthermore, the premise of a warrior who exists in two realms — the human world in his physical form, and in Hell spiritually — is a novel one, as is the masochistic source of his power on Earth.

Churilla’s artwork is rather light in tone, which makes for an interesting contrast with the more gruesome aspects of the story. It’s quite effective, though. He conveys the raw power that the title character possesses, and colorist Matthew Wilson does an excellent job of reinforcing the depth of the wounds that the Anchor sustains, as well as how that pain is channelled into power. Churilla’s designs for the demons in hell are rather simple and uninteresting. 6/10