Written by James Asmus and Jim Festante

Art by Abylay Kussainov

Colors by Ellie Wright

Letters by Taylor Esposito

If you love violence in a gritty and dark tale with enough energy to try and make you laugh, then you will love Survival Street #1. James Assmus and Jim Festante do not hold back the ridiculous but are still able to deliver a poignant message and well-paced story. The book does an excellent job of introducing us to this world that is not entirely unlike our own. This world includes living puppet people and a government that is run by the Fortune 500 (Crazy! I know right?!). The “far flung “premise is a great setup to the gritty tale. The book also does a very good job of pacing the introduction of its main characters and gives each one just the right amount of development. It has a great balance of world building, character development and action. The dialog was concise and gave you the right amount of detail without needing half panel word bubbles. The story is ridiculous, but it is also thought provoking and action packed.

The artwork by Mr. Kussainov is executed very well. The images make for a great contrast which further highlights the absurdity of the situation and story. The art is clean with steady lines and a good amount of detail. Every panel does an excellent job of augmenting the writing and helped to further immerse me into the world of survival street. The Colors by Ellie Wright are also spot on. The colors are bright and pop off the page and provide great clarity to the images. It looks just like a fun children’s book, but quickly and effortlessly changes to a bloody conflict that your mind just is not expecting.

Taylor Esposito does a good job with the lettering. The font is nice and clear with good placement. None of the word bubbles distract from the art and she is able to get a good amount of dialog in without it looking to busy.

If any political subject or right and left-wing politics is not your thing or not something you want in your comic books, then this is not for you. If you do not mind a little bit of politics with some gory action, then you will love this tale of absurdity. I personally will give Survival Street #1 8 capes out of 10.