Ludocrats #3 Review: Who Would Ignore A Sensible Plan?

To describe an intentionally surrealist work is, as some have said, sort of like dancing about architecture. Here, there's… well, the tricky part for some is getting to the very clever story involved here. If you ever listened to any of the early works of Sting or Chuck D, rich with references and subtlety, you'll likely be fine. If not …

 

Anyhoo, the Steam Judge Grattina (imagine a centaur-like woman where the bottom half is a train) knows about the secret plans of the Hyper-Pope Pardius. Despite having a very passionate relationship with the arguable lead, Baron Otto von Subteran, she won't talk, so she's sent to be tortured by Elaina Triptych, who looks like Mortal Kombat's Mileena mixed with Morrigan Aensland from Darkstalkers. Unfortunately, Gratty likes being tortured and only finally relents when something … much more destructive happens. "Why wouldn't she just tell people she likes?" you might ask? In the words of Varrick, "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, kid!"

The scene changes to a visual display that genuinely shows the fantastic possibilities that Jeff Stokely, Tamra Bonvillain, Fernando Arguello, and Clayton Cowles can make, which leads to a shocking fight scene and some hilarious moments that really should be seen.

What's most ingenious is the introduction of an on-screen narrator, who Otto hates and attacks at every point for reasons that might be made clear by this quote from Professor Hades: "I'm a being made of pure sound, and no one listens to a word I say. Who would ignore a sensible plan? Oh. Ludocrats. Yes, my mistake."

The writing from Kieron Gillen and Jim Rossignol is a delicate balance of madness and clarity, and it cannot be stressed enough that it's never an easy thing to do. Add to that the literal building busting visuals, the clever quips, the mad metaplot, there's really only one word for a book like this. RATING: BUY.