Counting the HOLY NUMBERS

In the interests of full disclosure - an electronic copy was provided for review. My opinions are my own.

Imagine, if you will, a prophet (of sorts) rising in modern-day Ireland. Mix in some murder, politically oriented intrigue, and a slight whiff of sexuality, and you have Tommie Kelly's The Holy Numbers one of the better digital comics to come out in recent months.

One of the great things about Tommie Kelly's writing is that it manages to mix deeper philosophical and religious conversations into a compelling story without seeming pretentious or out of place. It's the kind of story that could have been seriously mishandled, but Kelly never allows it to descend into pretention or condescension. Thankfully, the art also helps maintain this tone - it's similar to Oeming's work on Powers, yet there's a quality that makes it feel grounded and otherworldly at the same time.

As a digital comic, I also enjoyed the layout - think "landscape" over "portrait". (At least, that's how it was presented in the PDF I reviewed). Easy accommodating a variety of screens, it's good to see a writer take advantage of the unique nature of digital comics, providing an easy-to-glance style of storytelling that puts much of its hard-copy competitors to shame.

The other nice thing about Holy Numbers is that Keene has adopted a pay-what-you-think-it's-worth model, and quite honestly, I would encourage you to financially support this book. It's an adult (several aspects are NSFW), mature take on faith, free will, and ultimately, what we do as human beings. It's the kind of comic that needs to be more prevalent, and quite honestly, I cannot recommend Holy Numbers enthusiastically enough.

In other words, head to http://www.theHolyNumbers.com and buy it. Read it. Then wait for Volume 2 - it will definitely be worth it.