A Review of Coins of Judas #1

Coins of Judas #1
Travis Gibb words
Tyler Carpenter art
Rolands Kalniņš colors
Jerome Gagnon letterse
From Band of Bards

Family drama escalating? That Catholic guilt weighing you down? Peep the solicit:

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 30 pieces of silver that Judas dropped when he betrayed Christ? The Westergaard family knows and they have been fighting a hidden war against demons that have been spawned from it for years. However, since the death of Cullen Westergaard, his daughter and son are split apart as a new evil rises. Can they come together to save humanity one more time?

It’s no news that Band of Bards has been making a lot of noise on the indie scene, but they’ve teamed up with some of my favorite people from Orange Cone Productions to release a fiendishly great time with the new Coins of Judas, and I had to make sure you all knew about the BUZZ it’s making.

I was raised Catholic. Born-in-sin, Sunday school dreading, cloaked in guilt, Catholic. The older I get, the less faith I have, but I still love the mythos. Religious horror, demon slaying, cultish shenanigans, these narrative elements still grease my goose, and I’m happy to say Coins of Judas, after reading its first issue, left me glossy and invigorated.

“All the world’s hope died for 30 pieces of silver.”

Travis Gibb’s story is fresh and full of violence. It moves quickly and puts a whole new flavor on sibling rivalry. Both Sophia and Gunther Westergaard seem to have a case of the screw-ups, and I’m excited to learn much more about these greatly flawed characters. Though their past decisions seem to be haunting them in a myriad of ways, they’re pretty good at killing demons. They shoot them, chop them up with big, menacing axes, and they might even use a stick of dynamite every now and then. You’ll see, when the shit hits the fan, explosive is a light way of putting it. 

All that violence wouldn’t hit so hard without a stand-up art team, and Coins of Judas succeeds in that area as well. Tyler Carpenter brings his mangaka style to this hellish narrative, and the end result is an absolute ass-kicker. The sharp edges make both the demons and protagonists stand out. He handles the action perfectly and reigns chaos in-panel with staggering results. Rolands Kalniņš brings the heat on the colors elevating that killer Carpenter art. There’s so much blood dripping from these pages, you’ll need to lay out a tarp before you start reading.

I may be biased because we bonded over cheeseburgers, but Jerome Gagnon is one of my favorite letterers in comics. His text choice, bubble placement, and attention to detail secures a high-quality production. All of these ingredients add up to a hearty meal leaving you satiated but open to the dessert I’m sure the second issue will bring.

Folks, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, pre-ordering comics is important. Trust in the buzz, Coins of Judas is worth a pre-order. The first issue’s Diamond code is NOV221319, and you may as well go ahead and get that second issue while you’re at it: DEC221171. Missing these epic issues would be a betrayal in and of itself, so make sure you get those orders in and buckle up for some motherbuzzing mayhem.

Some friends of mine have also teamed up with Travis Gibb and Band of Bards to produce their own exclusive variant by rising star Ignacio Anibal Di Meglio! Take a peep at this banger of a cover and hit up @CBPoser on Twitter or @colescomicclaims on Instagram to put in an order.

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