Cardinal Dagon

By Massimo Rossi, Giuseppe Costabile, Renato Stevanato, and Mattia Gentili

Behemoth Comics

32 Pages

Enter the Cardinal, a scoundrel. He loves women; he sings karaoke, has bad taste and goes around like a gigolo and a dandy. After the death of the Pope, it’s entirely up to him to bring about the ruin of Earth, in his own way of course.

A much hyped and sold-out Italian brainchild, Cardinal Dagon presents readers with an interesting story about a group of Dark Popes and Cardinals sworn to bring about the end of the world. When the current Dark Pope (the fourth in the line) suddenly dies, Beelzebub’s coming falls in the hands of the Cardinal, who lives up to his dark name. He fights the Knights Templar and slaughters a number of them, “blesses” naked women during an orgy with unholy water fired from a pair of golden water pistols, and agrees to summon the dark lord simply to save his own skin.

The story is a 3-part series, and is intriguing enough to satisfy the darkest, most twisted desires of any horror reader (like tricking Jesus to going to Rome so that he could be ambushed and murdered by Satan and his minions). Although the characters are not part of the Lovecraftian lore, the themes of bringing the world to an end do echo some of those found in the stories of the Great Old Ones. The humor in the over-the-top actions of the title character provide for an entertaining read, and keep the dark themes a bit lighthearted. If you’re a fan of Marvel’s Deadpool this antihero will bring you much joy. The art is also great, especially in drawing some of the monsters and unholy beings. I give it a solid 5 out of 5 stars.