Webtoon Spotlight

Spotlight#179: Flawed

Have you ever wanted to just turn shit up on some fools? If so, then Image Comics' Flawed by Chuck Brown and Brenzy is here to paint the town a mighty shade of red.

Summary

In the Kafkaesque city of Setham, justice comes in high demand amidst the mind-numbing supply of corruption on the highest level. So much so our MC Gem Ezz tries to help the less fortunate by being a psychiatrist; through this profession, she tries to help other people with their problems as she takes care of them in a fit of gun-fuel-laden fury. However, when she pops a cap on the wrong target, Gem starts to unleash a series of events threatening to tear the city apart.

Characters

Gem Ezz: A veteran soldier, Gem, on the surface, presents herself as a nice and nurturing person. Dig deeper, though, and you'll see a warrior who still is ready to fight at the cost of her own body; whether this is for her self-interest or justice is hard to tell.

Vee: Gem's ever-faithful assistant, Vee displays a far more supportive and pleasant persona than even Gem, despite her unassuming face, though Vee makes up for her physical intimation through her ability to read herself and others.

Relic: A hitwoman for hire who has a taste for the older things in life (including her mentor, Mr. Holter). Relic takes no shit from pretty much anyone and can adapt quickly. However, she has a heart for gold and limits who can be on her targeted list.

Davis: Or Detective Davis to those listening. Davis may be the only good cop in Setham, an honor he tries to keep as he hunts down a mysterious vigilante doing his job for him.

Higgs: Our primary foe, Higgs, is an ailing mobster who would've probably already hit death's door by now if it weren't for his acquisition of the Skinwalker, a man with blood that has regenerative qualities. To that end, Higgs is willing to corrupt and kill anyone in his path as he provides the resources to sell the Skinwalker's body to the highest bidder.

Summary

As described by the Image Comics website, Flawed is Frasier meets Punisher, and I think it sets the tone rather well. Setham, in only 6 issues, feels like a world brimming with damn near infinite potential for the story they are trying to craft. From high-tech drones, spider monsters, and regenerating superhumans, it's clear that Flawed is a story where damn near anything could happen.

From that, we get a solid web of interconnected players in a city where corruption is so prevalent that we live in a world of outlaws. Gem may be the "hero," but her brutal methods and focus on revenge make her pretty much like everyone else. Though I guess said methods lead straight into the action, which I think is excellent personally.

Brenzy commands a very loose but grisly style of story that allows her action to be incredibly dynamic and energetic. The sheer gore and blood on display do remind you that every potential attack that lands has less chance to wound and more, horrifically maim into nonexistence. It also stays varied as a way to help the action as well.

However, if I were to list Flawed's greatest flaw, the 6-issue format holds it back a lot, as the length of the first volume is. Flawed is just begging for more. More time to spend with other characters and flesh out the world. That can be focused on in more chapters. The focus on this being Volume 1 does give me high hopes.

Especially since Chuck Brown is about as critically acclaimed as you can get, his most famous works include Bitter Work and the WEBTOON 1000 dashed with a history of comics in Punisher, Wolverine, and Black Panther. I'm sure to check out all runs in the future.

Epilogue

I think Flawed is a short but not sweet book that closes off this Black history quartet I got. While there is always more to read and more to be done for people of color-led comics, I hope this opens up the floodgates a little. There are so many stories, so many of our stories, that need to be told. And I hope I'm there to bring more awareness. Until then, though, let's the spotlight going a bit longer.