Written and Illustrated by
Simon Roy and Damon Gentry
Published by Image Comics
Grip Of The Kombinat is full of ideas that never gel.
Since it’s an anthology, there are several of opportunities to make it work, and every time it fails.
It wants to be a sci-fi satire, but is too full of itself.
It ends up feeling like a friend who tells a joke, forgets the punchline, and wants you to hold on while he promises to get back to the joke.
Grip of the Kombinat tells the story of two corporations vying for what is left of our solar system.
In the opening story, eco-terrorists attack a facility as it is being visited by a powerful politician.
In another story, robot drones have gained sentience and no longer wish to do the work of the company. Workers wear Martyr vest that when deployed on behalf of the company grants the worker’s beneficiary life insurance benefits.
The book is listed as a collaboration between Simon Roy and Damon Gentry. The art is too loose and busy to let any jokes land or settle. It’s trying to draw inspiration from MAD Magazine, but even at its worst MAD Magazine had focus in what it was aiming at.
MAD Magazine was funny and had spirit. I can’t say the same for the art here.
This anthology seems to want to poke fun at our current state of affairs, but it can’t make up its mind how to go about it. Each story is outlandish, but not in a way that brings you in and forces you to recognize a dark mirror to the real world.
No, it just waves its arm and points at what you should laugh at. It’s trying so hard and the flop sweat just comes through. The characters are loud and busy, lacking any grounding that makes us want to laugh. If the intent is to use sciifi satire, we should recognize something from the real world. It could be a character, or a place. This book never puts it together.
Ultimately, Grip of the Kombinat feels like an inside joke between two friends. It’s nice to see people enjoying themselves, but no one likes being a third wheel.
