The Mask: I Pledge of Allegiance to The Mask #1 ReviewBy Rocco Sansone

Stanley Ipkiss may be long dead, but “The Mask” is still around attaching itself to hosts and causing a whole ton of madness. The most recent addition to the madness is “I Pledge of Allegiance to The Mask” by Christopher Cantwell and artist Patric Reynolds. 

“The Mask” has reappeared in Edge City when he murders two abusive foster parents. Lieutenant Kellaway, now retired, returns just to track down this new threat. Meanwhile, Kathy, mayor of Edge City and running for US President, also finds out that “The Mask” is back and has no choice but to ask for help from a seedy character. It’s been a while since we’ve seen these Kellaway and Kathy and while it’s nice to know that they’ve been well, evil does have a way of returning to people.

It would be interesting to see what Kellaway and Kathy would do now after all this time. Bothe have worn “The Mask” and have plenty of experience seeing what it can do. Of course, it is possible that this story can be a du where not much happens and both Kellaway and Kath either never meet or meet “The Mask” once and it’s anti-climactic.

While Cantwell comes off as the writer to not do that, he may do something similar that will annoy, not so much anger, fans. Reynolds’ art brings out the dark, edgy feel that “The Mask” comics have been known for. The backgrounds look like the gritty, dirty city and bad neighborhoods that are the perfect fit for a series that has a ton of gore. Another aspect is the characters are ugly as all hell, even Kathy. While this may have done of purpose to show how gritty and dark this story is, it’s a little hard to look at a character’s face for too long. 

“The Mask: I Pledge of Allegiance to The Mask #1” has the dark, gritty atmosphere of the original comics and the storyline is the typical “The Mask” story with returning characters, there is a chance this may not be as great as it sounds and, while justified, the ugly characters are hard to look at.