Review: Voodoo Vol. 1- What Lies Beneath

Quick Summary

Pros: Some elements of the comic’s core mystery are interesting. The artwork is positive.

Cons: The main narrative is weak in most places. The comic’s approach to sexuality is awful and leads to confusing sexualization of some characters and a backward approach to sexual assault. The approach to sexuality creates plot holes in some parts of the narrative.

Overall: This is a poor volume on its own and a poor start to a new series. The volume trades a compelling narrative for a storyline focused on “sexy” adventures. Then, it poorly handles almost everything related to sexuality, creating a narrative that feels exploitative at some points and confusing at others. In general, this comic might appeal to readers simply looking for intensely sexualized characters in a mainstream comic book but will not appeal to many outside this category.

Story

Voodoo Vol. 1: What Lies Beneath, by Ron Marz and Joshua Williamson, is a book that attempts to tell a “dark, sexy tale” but, in doing so, ends up being a terribly flawed comic. The entire volume tosses sexual situations and risqué encounters at the reader with little to no nuance. This leads to a narrative that often defies logic or creates plot holes in order to emphasize these features. Doubling down on these problems, it also poorly presents sexual elements, including rape, in a way that further damages the entire narrative. There is a somewhat intriguing mystery buried within this comic but it is so covered by problems that it is hard to say whether it is worth it or not. In the end, this comic may appeal to readers looking for an overly-sexualized mainstream comic book but will not appeal to readers looking for a genuinely good read.

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The most egregious aspect of What Lies Beneath is the bizarre way in which it approaches sexuality and how this negatively impacts the comic as a whole. The volume’s opening chapter is set almost entirely within a strip club and focuses on sexualizing the women to a point that feels ridiculous. Then, over the next few chapters, the volume’s protagonist rapes one person and kills several more people. None of these actions are given the weight that they deserve, especially the rape which is almost ignored completely, and all of them make it incredibly hard to feel sympathy for the person who is supposed to be this comic’s main character. 

The other negative element about the comic’s approach to sexuality is that it often fails to make sense and occasionally creates plot holes. Voodoo’s decision to work at a strip club seems like a terrible way for a shapeshifter to learn about Earth’s metahumans, especially considering how easily she was able to infuriate a government base later on. In addition, it is never explained why Skinny, a Daemonite, chose to surround himself with highly sexualized women. There are also random moments where Voodoo attempts to seductively distract guards or employees when it seems like the logical thing to do would be to use brut force to achieve her goals. There are simply a ton of plot points, throughout this volume, that make no sense but appear to have been included to increase the book’s level of sexual tension, which ends up feeling ridiculous rather quickly.

The only redeeming quality to the storyline in What Lies Beneath is that small aspects of the comic’s mystery are intriguing. The final few chapters reveal that Voodoo is secretly a clone of a human woman, a woman who is still alive. I closed the volume somewhat curious to discover the connection between these characters and see how this connection will play into the overall Daemonite narrative.

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Art

The artwork in What Lies Beneath ends up being one of the comic’s most positive attributes. Sami Basri’s clean and stylized visuals pair well with Jessica Kholinne’s varied use of bright and dark colors. This makes the character stand out on nearly every page, which makes their actions look better. In addition, some great page layouts really work as an asset to the storytelling.

The only downside is that these visuals play into the comic’s unfortunate approach to sexuality. The artwork heavily sexualizes nearly every character, occasionally in ways that make little sense. It feels gratuitous from the very start and, unfortunately, this aspect of the book does not get better as it progresses.

Continuity

Voodoo Vol. 1: What Lies Beneath is the first volume in a new continuity. It is one of several of DC’s New 52 series that heavily incorporates characters and concepts from the Wildstorm Universe. However, none of the past activities of these characters or the histories of these concepts are necessary for understanding this new series.

The story here continues in Voodoo Vol. 2: The Killer in Me (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The existence of the Justice League (Reading Order) is mentioned a few times. The Justice League was formed in Justice League: Origin (Review). See our “From the Comics: The Origin of the Justice League (New 52 Version)” for more information.
• Grifter’s recent activities are briefly referenced. These activities are detailed across Grifter Vol. 1: Most Wanted (Review).