As a story about a retired devil who lives on earth wearing an old man mask, Shuck: The Sulfurstar has a lot going for it. The name, for instance, is clearly awesome. The charm of the classic cartoon art gives Shuck, the demon from hell, a childish innocence. The other devils are adorable silhouettes with teeny fly wings, stubby tentacles, or blunt horns. There’s also a ghost drawn in broken lines, like Casper. It’s all so cute and amusingly contrasted with the themes of sin and salvation. How could you go wrong with a book like that? I’ll tell you. Shuck is a chore to read. While the art is simple and charming, all of the speech in this dialogue-heavy book is written in some unknown accent. Here’s an example: “Thas na badereth name fer this phenom” means “that’s not a bad name for this phenomenon.” The device might be cute if every single character didn’t speak in that made-up dialect. It’s decipherable, but every panel has to be mentally translated. That’s too much work to get at what would otherwise be a fun and easy fantasy. Of course, the dialogue doesn’t ruin the comic altogether. Like Jeff Smith’s Bone, Shuck is a charming fantasy that seems like something children and adults could enjoy equally. Unfamiliar readers will just have to work a little harder than they’re used to. (Evan Dickson)
comic, issue 2, $2.95, Rick Smith and Tania Menesse, www.sulfurstar.com, http://csls.diamondcomics.com