Ozzy Osbourne, Jason Statham, and JK Rowling walk into a bar…

Sounds like the opening to a bad joke, but it could also be an excerpt from an early draft of The Order of Dagonet, a high-concept indy comic in which fictionalized cyphers for the famous rocker, action hero, and storyteller above are summoned together by Merlin to defend the modern world from the evil forces of faery who have been unleashed when a hapless construction crew accidentally demolishes the protective seal separating the magical from the mundane. The bad joke might go on to reveal a goofy misunderstanding or a cheap pun ending, and there’s certainly room for both in this comic, but thankfully it is no joke. In fact, The Order of Dagonet  #1 is quite inspired. 

Written by Jeremy Whitley and illustrated by Jason Strutz, ‘Dagonet’ plays with the same “dark magicks of Britain unleashed” dilemma that helped make Captain Britain and M13 a critical (if not financial) hit for Marvel earlier this year. But instead of B-list superheroes, Whitley and Strutz give us a trio of B-list celebrities as the UK’s new knights pulled together to save the day.

Strutz art style reminds me of that of Richard Corben–cartoony and almost too rough on first glance, until you take a moment to appreciate the subtle detail and creative layout work put into each page. Whitley writes the way people speak, which is not easy. And he does a fine job balancing the conflict and comedy of his story, offering social satire from the start, keeping the overall tone light enough that you don’t worry that he isn’t in on the joke of the potentially silly threat of the faery hordes or the corny team-up of his three could-be heroes. The Order of Dagonet is a fantasy epic like Ghostbusters is a horror movie. (And that is a big compliment!)

Two negatives to consider, but which probably won’t sway you away from the book: First, it’s short–the comic ended just when I was really getting into it. Arguably, this is a sign that the creators did a solid job of locking me in for the next issue…but with indy books, there’s never much of a guarantee that there will even be another issue. Second, and another knock on indy comics in general–not necessarily this comic alone, the book would have benefitted from some editing. It didn’t need to be cut shorter, obviously, but there were some spots where Whitley overused words (plan, plan…plan…plan) and generally tripped over his own writing, and a few muddy panels that should have been cleaned up. But that is one of the trade-offs of indy comics…total creative freedom at the price of no support team of editors and production staff to help polish your product before release.

But these are small nits to pick. The Order of Dagonet#1 was a fun read. I could definitely see it working as a movie based on the premise alone, but for the meantime, I’lllook forward to that next issue.

(If you’d like to purchase a copy of this book, ask your local comic shop to order it for you or get your own copy direct from http://www.orderofdagonet.com or the Firetower Website at http://www.firetowerstudios.com.)