KOLD (ONE-SHOT), from Source Point Press on August 24th, 2022, follows Homer – a man at the end of his life who suffers the regrets of his past. When he’s visited by his ex-wives, he realizes the price they paid for his mistakes.
The Details
- Written by: Michael Patrick Rogers
- Art by: Federica Mancin, Marta Gasperoni
- Colors by: Federica Mancin, Marta Gasperoni
- Letters by: Robin Jones
- Cover art by: Marco Fontanili (cover A)
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: August 24, 2022
Is It Good?
KOLD (ONE-SHOT) is a difficult comic to critique. When drafting a review, the first step is to look for a comic’s central by asking “What’s this comic about? What’s the story the creator is trying to tell?” KOLD (ONE-SHOT)’s central theme is simply “a heartless guy led a terrible life and was a terrible person to his three wives. Now he’s dead. The end.”
You could make the leap and say that the theme is a warning not to be a terrible person. Maybe the theme is meant to say that there is no redemption or true forgiveness after the hurt you’ve caused is already done. Or maybe, this comic is a cathartic piece of self-reflection from the creator who believes exposing a personal realization will somehow right one or more wrongs.
In any case, the theme presented is “bad man lives bad life, and now he’s dead. The end.” Themes can be tricky because sometimes you take away only what you’re looking for. In this case, we were looking for a complete story but didn’t get it.
However, the art in this issue is pretty darn good. Mancin and Gasperoni put together an impactful set of visuals as Homer is dragged to Hell by the corpses of his dead ex-wives (not as riveting as it sounds). The horror images are well constructed, and the panel compositions are excellent, especially during the flashbacks to Homer’s abuse of his third wife.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with an introduction to Homer and his dog Quint as they make a treacherous mountain climb in the dead of winter to reach a secret ice fishing spot. As Homer slowly reaches his destination, he ponders the terrible things he’s done in life and the wives he hurt because of those mistakes.
Home begins fishing, but the fish aren’t biting. Suddenly, home feels an enormous tug, and he reels in the undead corpse of his first wife who chides Homer for his infidelity but forgives him. The process repeats as Homer brings up his second wife and then his third wife, each with their own words of scolding and forgiveness (or not).
Realizing the hurt he’s caused, Homer lays down in the snow to let the cold freeze him into a block of ice that slips into the dark water. Time passes, and his three wives arrive to chain Homer up and drag him to Hell where each story of his wrongs done to them is shown in sordid detail. We conclude the issue with sorrow, sadness, and oblivion.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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KOLD (ONE-SHOT) is a difficult comic to digest because it tries to say something but doesn’t quite make it. The net result is the story of a terrible man who led a terrible life, and that’s all. At least the visuals are effective.
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