Sons Of The Devil Vol. 1

Sons of the Devil #1-5

by Toni Infante (Artist), Brian Buccellato

Collects the first five issue of the critically-acclaimed ongoing series from New York Times bestselling writer BRIAN BUCCELLATO and artist TONI INFANTE. Also includes a twelve-page origin story of Jennifer that is not available in the monthly comic. Collects SONS OF THE DEVIL #1-5.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Crime, Graphic Novels Comics, Mystery, Dark

147 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 25, 2015

Reviews

[Jan Philipzig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one did not exactly beg to be read when I first flipped through it in the library: it looked more than a little sketchy and rough around the edges. Somehow it ended up in my bag anyway, and I’m glad it did. Combining gritty personal drama from the margins of society (along the lines of Truffaut's Antoine Doinel movies) with a healthy dose of twisted, suspenseful, metaphysical horror (think Polanski's Rosemary's Baby), Brian Buccellato and Toni Infante’s Sons of the Devil is shaping up to become one of the more exciting Image titles on the shelves. The plot itself isn’t terribly original, mind you, but it provides a solid hook and is brought to life very effectively by believable characters and realistic dialogue. Everything feels raw and urgent and lively – thanks in part also to Infante’s sketchy, blunt, dynamic visual style, as it turns out.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Troubled twenty-something Travis was orphaned as a kid and bounced around foster homes. But when his foster brother claims to have found Travis’ biological father, he’s stabbed to death. Travis’ father was Satanic cult leader David Daly who sired numerous kids before his early death when the Feds raided his Manson Family-esque base in 1989. Today, David has somehow returned and decided to reunite with his children – a bloody union intended to bring the Devil to the mortal world!

Sons of the Devil is a pretty damned good horror comic! Writer Brian Buccellato jumps between 1989 and the present day with ease, the two parts complementing each other well as this twisted story unfolds. Travis isn’t the easiest guy to like but his story is compelling, as is Wade Pope’s from 1989, a cop who’s trying to get his daughter out of the cult.

Comparisons to Helter Skelter and Rosemary’s Baby are unavoidable though I’d also say the story has shades of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Survivor, about a surviving member of a death cult being hunted by his twin brother, the only other survivor. The influences hardly mark out Sons of the Devil as original but Buccellato makes the material enough of his own for it not to matter, even with hokey references like Travis as “The Chosen One” and demonic kids’ different coloured eyes.

Toni Infante’s art is a little too scratchy for my taste but it’s not bad and Lee Loughridge’s colours are as awesome and luminescent as they are in Deadly Class. The one part I really didn’t like was Travis and his girlfriend Melissa’s storyline – the two are bickering most of the time and Melissa’s passive-aggressiveness was so irritating. The two shouldn’t be a couple, they’re just bad to each other! The melodrama that plays out between them is very trying to endure.

The first volume of Sons of the Devil is far from horrible horror! It’s not breaking new ground but it’s a compelling horror story about how sometimes not knowing who your real dad is might be preferable to the truth – y’know, in case your dad’s the Devil himself!

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story. I love the horror and cult aspects of the book. It reminds me of one of my favorite films, Lord of Illusions. Toni Infante's art needs some work. Right now it looks like a poor man's Sean Murphy. And I'm not really sure why he draws so many lines on character's faces. It's very distracting.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this novel after reading Magda's raving review of the first issue here, and to be completely honest, when I opened the book and saw the artwork, I thought we were going to have a bitchfight over this one because it didn't look appealing to me at ALL.

The artwork is raw and has a lot of 'lines' in it; something I can't stand to watch in certain anime series either.

I mean, what's going on here? Was he attacked by a grizzly bear in the face? Is he sprouting hair in a weird fashion trying to become the new Chewbacca?
Yeah, not a fan.
Luckily, I got used to it after awhile because the story is fan-fucking-tastic!

The blurb mentions True Detective. I can totally see why. The story goes back and forth into time: from 1989 to the present day and back again. There's a religious cult thing going on, murder, and some fucked up dysfunctional people who are trying to solve the pieces to the puzzle while struggling with their own demons.

Travis Crowe is one of those people, and also happens to be the protagonist of the story; a tortured soul who was orphaned at a very young age and has gone from foster home to foster ever since. His heart is definitely in the right place. He even carries his dog to work with him when the pooch is too lazy to walk himself. Authority is one thing Travis struggles with, though, anger management another one. When he gets angry due to injustice, he turns into sort of a Punisher and goes full out. With his fists, that is.

After Travis headbutts his boss into the hospital, he needs to go to counselling to work on his anger issues.There just happens to be a special Orphan Counselling group right around the corner (coincidence or not?!), which he joins. And then shit starts hitting the fan. Big time.

Now before this is starting to sound like your everyday kind of thriller setup: it isn't. The flashbacks to 1989 are what make this story one heck of a creep fest. I really don't want to give too much away, so I'm just going to stick to a few keywords here: demonic cult, orphans, bloody rituals, conspiracies. I finished the book in one go, while I normally like to spread my graphic novels out over at least two reading sessions. I just couldn't stop reading this time...the mystery, the crime, the eerie villains. This is the perfect read for the upcoming October month. 

Because this is a graphic novel and the artwork is obviously very important, I'm afraid I'm going to have to deduct a whole brownie here. If it had been smoother and more to my taste, it would've gotten the full five brownies easily. The second volume is coming out on the 18th of October and it's going to be in my pre-order basket for sure. Definitely recommended!

***The graphic violence makes it less suitable for the faint of heart and peeps under the age of sixteen.***

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark.

And I'm not sure if it's my cup of tea. I like my darkness to be a little less realistic. A little more supernatural. There may be a touch of that here, but I can't tell if that's all in his head.

It's an interesting story - a cult leader is believed to be dead, but comes back 25 years later to claim his many children.

The story is good, the art is well-done and fitting. I'd recommend it if you like this kind of story. But I didn't like it well enough to follow up with the next volume.

Thanks to NetGalley, Diamond, and Image Comics for a copy in return for an honest review.

[Gem (The Creepy Geek) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has an interesting premise and it was a pretty good read. It didn't blow me away or anything. I didn't get in well with the artwork which I know is a weird thing but when you're reading a graphic novel it's pretty important and I just didn't gel with it.

I would like to see what happens in the story but I don't know if I will rush to get the next issue.

[Zedsdead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alternating then-and-now storyline. Then: 1989, a creepy Koreshian cult leader intent on fathering and then sacrificing 99 children to Satan. Now: 2016, an orphaned young man with one demonic red eye and no knowledge of his past, and a series of strange people who suddenly enter his life.

Surprisingly good characterizations. The protagonist genuinely feels like a good-hearted kid with anger and abandonment issues. The cult leader who hunts him is pretty one-dimensional, I guess, but then he's a Satanic cult leader who sacrifices babies. Not a lot of room for sympathetic development there.

I quite like the art, and the decision to only use four or five colors per panel (but not the SAME five colors; they change with the setting.) The full page panels are terrific, though the characters in smaller panels are inconsistently drawn. Can't decide how I feel about the red-eye-blue-eye child-of-the-devil marker. Sometimes it feels awesome and creepy, others it reminds me of those goofy 1950s 3D glasses.

I didn't expect to enjoy this title as much as I did.
-------------------
Reread 1/9/17: This gets better the second time through.

[Ondřej Halíř · Rating 4 out of 5]

Psychologický Thriller který sleduje už dospělého sirotka Travise který nedokáže moc dobře zvládat svůj vztek. Díky tomu se dostává do hodně zbytečných problémů a to i přes to že je to jinak fajn a hodný chalpík. Jednoho dne jeho nevlastní brácha ho kontaktuje že má vodítko na to kdo je jeho pravý otec, no a tím to začíná. Náhle se dostáváme do víru okultistického kultu, ten je záhadný a po celé první volume ani nebude tak moc tušit o co v něm celkově jde, či jak se z něho někteří jedince včetně hlavního hrdiny dostali.

Celé se to nese v poměrně temnějším duchu a to i přes to že se tu scénárista nebojí dávat milé vtipy, které podmaňují ještě více atmosféru a díky náhledům do života postav s nimi ještě více dokážete sympatizovat či naopak. Jedná se tedy spíše o více atmosferický thriller kde se rozuzlení pomalu teasuje a na vše je docela dost času. I přes to mi ale místy přišlo že některé části byli více uspěchané a některé interakce mezi Travisem a jeho přítelkyní až zbytečně moc vyhrocené a nesmyslné.

I tak ale doporučuji všem co mají rádi příběhy o kultech a démonech (i když tu moc nejsou, zatím)

[Whitney (The Cover Collector) · Rating 3 out of 5]

What started as a cool premise - actual satanic cult leader making devil babies - turned into a domestic spat between the MC and his girlfriend, Melissa. Between the questionable art and the MC’s anger issues, we had to endure multiple chapters on the status of his relationship status. Overall, I’m disappointed. It almost feels like the story is barebones. Hopefully the next volume will pick up the pace again.

Individual reviews:

#1, #2, #3, #4, #5

[Tatiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not sure how I feel about this. I read it for the cult and even though it's there, it didnt feel very engrossing. Travis, the lead, is unpleasant to follow. The cult itself is mostly just used to explain why everything is happening versus the cult being the center of the story.

I am tempted to read the second volume just to see what happens.

But I just feel like I wasnt sucked in enough.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark mystery with twists and turns along the way, Sons of the Devil was a fantastic read. The writing in here is very good, and I loved the sketchy visuals. I was really invested in this once we got to the half-way point and learned more about the characters, and I am eager for the next volume.

4/5

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a complex story and this one promises big things, though it's difficult to keep all the details straight. The story has a good start, but this volume can't be considered a standalone arc. It looks like this series must be read as a whole and I'm not complaining.

Travis Crowe is an adult orphan with a temper and little knowledge of his true past. His friend Klay, a boy whose family cared for Travis in his youth, is searching for Travis's biological father. Unfortunately, a mysteryous man is secretly killing people, including Klay, to keep it a secret. He has a vested interest in Travis - something related to his past. He kills and replaces the group therapist Travis goes to in order to get close to the young man. Travis also has problems in his relationship with his girlfriend Melissa. Travis is being dragged into something bigger than him and he will have to see it through.

Travis was born in a commune led by David Daly, a fanatic with ties to the devil. Also he was thought dead. A young woman named Jenny and her brother Rory also get close to Travis and claim to be his half-siblings. After Melissa, who is also pregnant, leaves him, Travis pursues his link with Jenny.

[Katie Greenwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Actual review 3.5**
The premise of this graphic novel had me from the beginning. Last year I read The Girls by Emma Cline, which I thoroughly enjoyed. In fact I read quite a few novels with commune/cult elements and that was what really excited me about this graphic novel. It's described as True Detective meets Orphan Black and also Helter Skelter, um yes pls.

However, all though this was an incredibly promising start to a series it seemed rushed. Or at least the latter half of the story was. All of a sudden these multiple elements collided together and it was a little much, to the point where I couldn't focus on the story. So there is definitely a devil worship thing going on but it isn't fully explained. I've been left with a lot of questions but I'm hoping it'll be explained in the next volume.

Also, two different coloured eyes? V.E Schwab that you?

www.a-novel-idea.co.uk

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've said it before, but I have a bit of obsession with stories about cults. The fact that it's possible for one person to have such an intense hold over so many others is terrifying. It's also fascinating. How evil one must be, to be willing to bend others to their malicious will. I suppose it's no surprise that I chose to read Sons of the Devil. David Dahly stared at me from the pages, and I stared right back.

Now obviously you're not going to want to read this book if you have an issue with blood, violence and death. The colony isn't exactly a happy place all the time, even if it looks like it on the surface. After all, you can't keep people in line with kindness. In fact, this graphic novel begins with a bludgeoning. No explanation, no set up, just violence. It all wraps back around, but you'll know from the very first panel whether or not this is going to be a story that you can handle.

Now, on to the plot! I have to say, this first volume definitely peaked my interest. Travis, our main character, was orphaned as a child. We enter his life at a time where, at first glance, everything seems to be going pretty okay. That is, until pieces of his past begin to be uncovered. What would you do if you found out that you were the product of a cult? To say that Travis doesn't handle it well is an understatement. I loved the way this story was told. It unfolded bit by bit, and suddenly I saw Travis in a whole different light. They say our past comes back to haunt us. In this case, that's definitely the truth.

By the time things came full circle, I was breathless from the chase. While I wasn't always a huge fan of the art, I do think it genuinely matches the story that needed to be told. The limited palette panels specifically caught my eye, for the dreary atmosphere they put forth. This graphic novel is done well. It's intriguing. It ends in a place that makes you want to shout angrily at the sky. I absolutely want more.

[Fiorella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ver, me ha gustado pero se me ha hecho un poco confuso. Habían partes que simplemente no entendía, no sé si era porque la historia estaba contada en tres épocas, pero recién viendo las reseñas sobre la novela, pude entender algunas cosas.
Me ha parecido una idea genial combinar el culto, la religión y la familia; nunca había leído sobre eso. Quizás si hay películas sobre eso, pero no las he visto porque no soy fan del terror xD. Y sí, se supone que esta novela es del género horror pero no la he sentido exactamente como tal. Lo que sí no le voy a restar es que es una novela gráfica con mucho suspenso, intriga, es bastante emocionante c:.
El final ha sido muy raro, a mitad del libro ya me preguntaba para dónde iba este libro, no entendí por qué tanto misterio para ese final o qué quería el autor con todo esto.
Sobre el arte, me encantó, me ayudó mucho a visualizar lo que leía, estuvo muy bien para la historia. No puedo opinar que si los gráficos estuvieron mal dibujados o incompletos porque yo no sé de esas cosas, a mí me encantaron.

Recibí este eARC gracias a Netgalley, Diamond Book Distributors e Image Comics en intercambio por una reseña honesta :).

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting idea that isn't helped by the sketchy artwork and plotting that is confusing and hard to follow. Lead character is an orphan who has anger issues and discovers that he's one of several male children fathered by the crazy leader of a cult. Now, each of these "sons of the devil" must be killed in order for the cult leader to gain some power or other. I'm all for horror comics and I like cult stories, but this isn't particularly original, nor is it very well-plotted. It is hard to know what's going on all the time and the artwork isn't particularly helpful in that regard. Kind of sketchy and half-finished. I might read more of this if I could get a copy at the library or via Netgalley, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 and a half stars*
Great artwork. Interesting story, but there's a lot going on, I may have missed a couple small details. I'm very interested in reading more, so a good read overall.

I received an advanced copy of this from NetGalley.com and the publisher.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was fun. I liked it. A good horror story. The main character has anger issues and isn't very likable but I didn't not like him either. The story is entertaining but is short and ends abruptly. The art's pretty good and matches the atmosphere. Not fantastic, but not bad either.

[Tânia M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5*

Loved it! Dark and intriguing!

[John Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gritty
Raw
A punch in the face
A brilliant noir crime story

[Jessica T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm intrigued where they are going with this....

[William M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 AND 1/2 STARS

This 3 volume story has a good premise and, although it feels a bit familiar, I enjoyed the focus author Buccellato kept on just a few characters. The pace was fast and I enjoyed moving back and forth from present to the past to piece together the puzzle of the brutal crimes that happened years ago. A few minor surprises were not enough to elevate this from a good story to a great one. The artwork by Toni Infante, however, was really special and pushed my rating from a 3 to a 3.5. His frames, style, and consistency were a joy to look at. Looking forward to volume 2. Overall, a solid recommendation.

[The Geeky Viking · Rating 4 out of 5]

With SONS OF THE DEVIL and CANNIBAL, writer Brian Buccellato has cemented himself as a comic creator to watch. Much like CANNIBAL, SONS is a twisted mash-up of crime and horror, reminding the reader of a cross between TRUE DETECTIVE and the MANSON FAMILY MURDERS. Our antagonist, Travis, is a bit of a foul tempered jerk but his backstory makes for a compelling mystery. The story weaves between time periods but is never hard to follow. It's a fun set up and leaves you very much looking forward to Volume 2.

[Sarospice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, sure! Who wouldn't want to read a story of hundreds of orphans finding out they may have all been fathered by the same devil worshiping commune leader! But it would have to be A LOT more thrilling and action filled than this attempt. If all you got is a guy bound in a basement, well... Brian Buccellato, you don't know my life!

[Brian Dickerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

BCDER: 61

I've not seen much Toni Infante art before this book. I really liked it a lot at the beginning. Reminds me of Riley Rossmo. After a while though I felt like I had to do double takes to identify the character because of similar looks. It could just be me.

A solid beginning to the story and a story I look forward to see continue.

[Alyx Who · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this at a flea market for three bucks and was intrigued enough to purchase.
Its style feels like an edgier version of a Marvel movie. Which also comes with some of the flaws of the MCU; like being a bit rough around the edges with fast pacing and plot points that feel a touch too predictable. Never the less I'm still going to follow the series into vol 2. Whenever I find it that is...

[G-E · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5* étoiles
Un comics sombre rempli de mystère. Les liens ne sont pas toujours faciles à faire au début, mais on finit par s’y retrouver en cours lecture.

[Art · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. It is okay. I don't feel drawn to immediately go out and search for the next volume in the series.

[Ian Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool, gross, scary story with great art. The story is just the right amount of complicated. I'm looking forward to the next one.

[Chad Jordahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+? I didn't love it but I like enough to want to read the next one.