Written by: David Hine / Illustrated by: Shaky Kane / Published by: Image Comics / Cover Price: $3.99 / Release Date: Out Now

Insane, unadulterated genius. Welcome to the world of The Bulletproof Coffin, where pulp comic characters merge with their real world counterparts and nothing is ever as it seems. With hard-hitting hyperbole and bloodshed that would make Geof Darrow jealous, this is a world where deranged pop-art flashes psychedelic images at your brain and dares you to keep up.

I am no stranger to The Bulletproof Coffin. The original miniseries was recommended to me by more people that I could count and contained a deranged vigour that was difficult not to like. Something special is happening in this Disinterred sequel, something that makes this the rare comic that’s possible to enjoy with no knowledge of the original. The first issue contains one of the most brilliant openings to a series that I’ve ever read, easily rivalling the long-cherished Watchmen, and does so in a way that completely characterises the irreverence we’re to expect from the rest of the series. Familiar characters appear but the focus of this first issue is squarely on The Shield of Justice, featuring in a hard-boiled crime caper that include a headless victim with a squid wired to the stump of her neck! My interpretation of the story will, I expect, change after reading subsequent issues, but it says a lot that since writing for Starburst this has probably been the first comic that I’ve felt compelled to reread immediately. You should see my to-read pile, it doesn’t allow for luxuries like this!

I enjoyed the first Bulletproof Coffin series very much, but it didn’t engender in me quite the same loyalty that it seemed to in my peers. It was bold and new, but I wasn’t clamouring to tell everyone about it. Disinterred takes things to the next level. This, you have to read. Whichever muse visits Hine and Kane has a fondness for hallucinogens and a sick sense of humour, but that’s fine by me. Leave your logic by the door and enjoy The Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred for what it is, a fantastical journey into two diseased minds, homage to all things pulp and fun, and the first step into a brave new world.