First published back in July of 2009, a special limited edition comic for US death metal band Cannibal Corpse’s album ‘Evisceration Plague’ was issued exclusively on the Hot Topic booth at the 2009 Mayhem Festival in North America. The comic was drawn entirely by Vince Locke, who has done almost all of the band’s album cover artwork as well as illustrating their earlier limited edition comic ‘Unleashing The Bloodthirsty’ (2003). However, instead of merely illustrating the lyrics for just one song, this time Locke has produced a comic that illustrates all twelve blood-drenched songs from the band’s album.
The ninety-six page comic accompanied a copy of the album along with its inlay, all within a clear plastic zip-bag sporting a ‘Mature Audiences’ sticker.
DLS Synopsis:
Priests Of Sodom – 10 pages
They enter the temple of sin. Virgins and whores, ready to be ravaged by the priests of Sodom. Perverse rites and the sins of the flesh commence – all under the watchful gaze of the priests. And then the murder commences…
Scalding Hail – 6 pages
Flying chunks of burning hot debris come raining down from the sky. On the streets, those caught in this apocalyptic storm of fire are cut down in seconds, burning to death in a blaze of agony. And the streets are soon turned into a molten hell on earth…
To Decompose – 9 pages
Alone, away from prying eyes, he throws another carcass into the dirt. Meticulously emptied, their final days spent being drained and dissected. He never stops. He is a killer. A slaughterer. An artist of death…
A Cauldron Of Hate – 9 pages
How long can he contain his murderous rage? A rage that has been swelling up inside of him throughout his life. And now it’s finally boiling over. He takes the knife. Hides and waits. And when she arrives, the horrors of his vengeance are unleashed…
Beheading And Burning – 7 pages
They descend upon the village, hacking off heads and burning down their homes. Their children are in chains, the women raped, the men all dead. Their leader is next. He won’t last long. Death is coming…death is here…
Evidence In The Furnace – 7 pages
Chopping the body up, he casts the flesh and bone into his furnace. This victim wasn’t the first, and he won’t be the last. And as the body parts turn to ash, so all trace of the man who they are searching for is erased…
Carnivorous Swarm – 6 pages
The sky is stained by the swarming cloud of the beasts approaching. Everything in their way is cut down. The winged beasts descend. A swarming cloud of horror. Nothing will survive. The apocalypse is here…
Evisceration Plague – 7 pages
One small slip-up and an experimental pathogen is unleashed on the world. An invisible plague, turning man to murderer. The slaughter commences. The streets are awash with blood. But he cannot stop. His own flesh is next. And whilst he dies, so does the rest of the world…
Shatter Their Bones – 6 pages
Stranded on top of a tourist information centre, the three survivors face hordes of the undead around them. Molotov cocktails and nail-studded clubs are all they have. But they will keep on fighting them. Keep on burning them. And keep on shattering their bones…
Carrion Sculpted Entity – 7 pages
Created from decay and the guts of the dead; the infernal beast is alive. Ungodly and deformed – it savages its victims, consuming their very souls. And then they are within it, a part of it, another body of flesh on its grotesque form, and it is ready for more…
Unnatural – 6 pages
The pain in his head has driven him to murder. He walks the streets, loaded with knives and ready for the kill. No one is safe. For he cannot stop. And as the snow descends, so the white of the ground is drenched in red…
Skewered From Ear To Eye – 8 pages
He sharpens his metal pick, preparing for the night. And in the nightclub he sees the girl. He waits…he watches…and then when the time is right he takes her. Through the ear, though the eye, the murder is just the beginning. Cannibalism will follow. For this is his life and he knows no other…
DLS Review:
Ever read a series of stories, each one with no real plot or much in the way of direction other than merely to bask in the gory filth of violence, gore and sadistic perversion? Nope? Well here’s your chance! The comic follows the lyrics of the entire album, each song drenched in brutal violence and visceral gore. And the end result is utter madness. Slaughter, killing, violence and a dash of perversion. Oh yes it’s a fine cocktail.
Throughout the comic Vince Locke’s illustrative artwork is much more rough and ready than the illustrations that we’re used to from his cover artwork, but the sketchiness of each frame doesn’t let the comic down one bit. It’s vivid, urgent, brutal and intense throughout. Locke barely lets his pen touch the page without some atrocity or other being depicted in all its ungodly glory.
Okay, so you’re not going to get much out of the comic except for the sheer base-level entertainment that over-the-top violence and gore provides. Yeah, it’s certainly not a thought-provoking masterpiece that brings up questions and ponderings on humanity. It just dives in with the violence and goes straight for the gross-out jugular. But is there any really harm in that?
However, one aspect that borders on interesting is the recurring theme of the ‘having-had-enough-and-now-it’s-time-to start-killing’ theme. So many of the stories/songs follow this principal idea. And in this day and age, it’s a premise that can be seen as somewhat controversial by some. Something that the band are never going to shy away from (thank god).
However, amongst these vengeance-on-the-world plots, there’s a ’28 Days Later’ (2002) type of story along with the delightfully sordid opener which is by far the most sexually orientated offering. However, the strip that sticks out the most for its abstract imagination and nightmarish vision is the adaptation of ‘Carrion Sculpted Entity’, which to be honest, is a horrifying piece of absolute illustrative genius.
All in all the comic is a piece of gruesome, low-brow gore entertainment that’s sure to please any good fan of the band. Vince Locke has certainly succeeded in bringing Cannibal Corpse’s tracks from ‘Evisceration Plague’ to life with his brutal depictions of the songs in all their blood-drenched glory. It’s one for the fans. And for them…it certainly won’t disappoint.
The comic runs for a total of 96 pages.
© DLS Reviews
