I Heart Skull-Crusher #6 Review

 

Writer: Josie Campbell

Artist: Alessio Zonno

Colorist: Angel De Santiago

Letterer: Jim Campbell

Cover Artists: Alessio Zonno; Brittney Williams; Alessio Zonno & Angel De Santiago

Designer: Grace Park

Editors: Kenzie Rzonca, Elizabeth Brei, Bryce Carlson & Matt Gagnon

Special Thanks: Dafna Pleban

Publisher: Boom!

Price: $4.99

Release Date: October 9, 2024

 

Trini Wastelander has achieved her lifelong ambition. Her amateur Podunk Lil Team defeated the professionals and won the championship. But now, Trini joins her idol's team as Queen Mob sells Cutter Dan, the Bandit Twins, and Dave The Mutant Bear-Man to other teams. As the Screaming Pain Ball teams return to the Bubble Cites, how will Queen Mob spice up her next tournament? Let's get our heads in the game, leap into I Heart Skull-Crusher #6, and find out!

 

Story

In Josie Campbell's story, Queen Mob poisoned one of her empire’s few remaining lakes. As the teams battled in an immense arena, she dropped sections of the grandstands into the poisoned lake and drowned Crater Town. But as she slays her subjects, Queen Mob looks toward the future. She pits the tyrants of the bubble cities against each other while seeking a worthy successor.

 

Trini reminds herself that, with Coach Blood-Bone's help, she welded her teammates into a well-oiled machine. As she joins the Goalie Deckard, Second Striker Huxley, and First Defender Trish for the ride back to Queen Mob’s Capital Dome, she vows to forge friendships with her new teammates. But her new captain, Marcus Mob, squashes that idea quickly. Trini made him look bad when Podunk Lil Team defeated the Bubble City Bullets. Queen Mob disowned Marcus when he tried to overrule her decision to let Podunk Lil Team win the championship. As they compete against the other bubble cities in Queen Mob’s new tournament, Marcus has one rule: no one befriends Trini. But he and Trini discover that everything revolves around Skull-Crusher. And just as Queen Mob likes surprises, the team will get another surprise player in I Heart Skull-Crusher #6.

 

While Trini loved the bandit twins and Dave The Mutant Bear-Man, she misses Cutter Dan most. As she grew up alone, with only the skulls she dubbed Mother and Father, Screaming Pain Ball became her world. But the life of a sports professional clashes with everything she envisioned. Her teammates will never be her friends, and the rules encourage players to kill each other. While never lowering her guard, Trini must find a way to preserve her love for the game and avoid becoming a cynic like her hero.

 

Art

Alessio Zonno blends postmodern imagery and historic grandeur with comic characters and fanciful caricatures in I Heart Skull-Crusher #6. It's a world of the Haves vs the Have Nots, as Queen Mob’s soldiers pull Trini away from former teammates who stare at a cheering crowd through hologrammatic banners. Trini's soulful eyes peer through the shutters of the four-axle vehicle as the convoy races through the American Waste to Queen Mob's Capitol Dome. Only Skull-Crusher rides solo, wearing a scowl and crossing her arms over her chest, as her motorcycle steers a straight path between the armored trucks.

 

Angel De Santiago fills Trini’s world with bold colors in I Heart Skull-Crusher #6. The green trucks contrast with the glaring yellow American Waste. Inside Trini's transport, swashbuckling Marcus stands before a green and beige trading card listing his statistics and accomplishments. Air rushes through the window shutters, making his black cape trimmed with gold braid flutter and revealing a Londo Calrissian-like blue lining. The light filling each giant Victorian-style dome colors the classic architecture pink and blue while red and pink crowds cheer amid tropical greenery.

 

As Trini and Cutter Dan embrace, Jim Campbell fills white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes with small uppercase lettering that grows bold for inflection and enlarges for shouts. Giant letters identify the bubble cities on a map showing the extent of Queen Mob's domain. Sound effects arise as Trini and Cutter Dan fall through the floor, giant dialogue helps us hear the cheering crowd, and music notes adorn a touching song as Dave The Mutant Bear-Man roars amid cherubs and flowers. Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When Queen Mob breaks up Podunk Lil Team, Trini must convince her new team not to kill her friends in I Heart Skull-Crusher #6. Unfortunately, her new teammates include a team captain with an axe to grind and Trini's lifelong idol who wins by any means necessary.  

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.