The Ballad of Al Snow and Head

The Ballad of Al Show and Head

Broken Icon Comics 2021

Written by Eric Watkins

Illustrated by Tommy Patterson

Coloured by Rob Dumo & Nick Wentland

Lettered by Justin Birch

THE BALLAD OF AL SNOW AND HEAD takes us on a journey deep into Al's mind. Together with Head, he runs the JOB Squad Detective Agency, looking out for the surviving citizens of a post-apocalyptic Louisville. When the heart of a barmaid is stolen, Al sets out to find it. At any cost. Without fear... or rational thought. From blending with high society in the Ville to battling the rejects in the flooded Mire, Al risks it all for, well, no one is really sure.

I am honoured and thrilled that I was asked to do a review for this book. I’ve been a fan of the guys at Broken Icon for years now and they’ve managed to put out some extremely entertaining books over the years and this one will stand proudly among them. Now I’ll be the first to admit I know nothing of Professional Wrestling but thankfully this isn’t a book about wrestling at all instead it’s post apocalyptic romp that explores the humorous side of the man named Al Snow.

I love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is exceptionally well rendered. The character development we see is phenomenal and it’s as much to do with the dialogue as it does how Al acts and reacts to the situations and circumstances he encounters and the sheer amount of absurd humour that we see is fabulous as can be. How the humour and the storyline itself are so entwined with each other is beyond what I could have hoped for and it’s a glorious thing to see. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, the world and its characters its the introduction to something absolutely wonderful.

The way that this is structured and how the layers within the story emerge and continue to play themselves out is the kind of delightful usually reserved for a Ghiradelli Chocolate or an aged Scotch. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impressive to see.

The interiors here are absolutely fantastic! The linework that we see with its varying weights and techniques being utilised to bring out this level of detail work is absolutely wonderful. This relies a lot on the backgrounds that we see and that’s how it should be because it helps us see when, where and the size of the space that because of how the composition within the panels are seen brings us depth perception, a sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the book. The creativity and imagination that’s on display here is extraordinary. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a sensational eye for storytelling. The colour work that we see is fabulous! The hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a strong eye for how colour works.

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This is unexpected, entertaining, engaging and overall it’s just one hell of a great time! The writing here is strong, intelligent and full of the kind of humour that makes you feel good as you laugh out loud. We need more books out there where you leave smiling and in the kind of mood that makes you feel you can tackle the world amidst a pandemic. Also this needs to be the first in a series of stories starring Al and Head because honestly I haven’t had this much fun on a legitimate scale in such a long, long time.

Right now this is a kickstarter and you can support it right here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2064021937/the-ballad-of-al-snow-and-head​