The Strange Talent of Luther Strode is a comic written by Justin Jordan, penned and inked by Tradd Moore, and published by Image Comics. The story follows the Peter Parker esq main protagonist Luther Strode. Luther is a scrawny nerd, who is bullied at school, incapable of talking to girls (if you’re reading this, I have a feeling you relate), and lives with his single mother. This comic book archetype takes a turn for the worst when Luther orders an exercise manual from an old comic book. Much like any other scam at the back of an old comic book, the immediate results don’t come, until the cult that owns the manual decides to deus ex machina super reflexes and a hot bod on Luther overnight.
The Strange Talent of Luther Strode is full of vivid colors and has excellent art work. Much like most Image artwork, it strays from the norm and goes about 15 degrees from what we’re used to (if you get that joke, thank you), and allows a good divide between hyper realism and funky abstract art.
The characters, though shallow and lacking development are unique and lovable. Luther is the Peter Parker esq protagonist, given superpowers, and lacking a father, he is much like the average superhuman. Petra, like Mary Jane in quite a few ways, is the sexy redheaded Russian love interest, and is probably the most dynamic character. Her abusive father and kick ass attitude make her a character to look forward to reading about. Pete is the standard best friend, and is like the male Gwen Stacey of the group, if we’re going to be comparing people to Spider-Man characters. Lastly, the Librarian is the main antagonist, and not a lot can be said about him, other than he is polite, wears a nice bow tie, is muscular and deadly as hell, and looks like a librarian. Being the face of the cult we get to see, it can be assumed that he is in charge or high up in the order.
The story is nothing special, being similar to Spider-Man, Kick-Ass, or any other teenage super hero story. Despite these negative aspects, the slasher element is just epic. To put the gory slasher into perspective, when Negan hit Glen with Lucille in the season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode makes that look like a children’s show.
If you enjoy stories that fit comic archetypes perfectly, people being punched so hard their eyes pop out, significantly more graphic violence, Scientology cults, and an epic superhero suit, look no further than The Strange Talent of Luther Strode.
Don’t Open, Reviews Inside #2: The Strange Talent of Luther Strode
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