By T.W. WORN — You're sitting in a coffee shop uptown to talk with your significant other. You have been together for three years, and your fourth anniversary is coming up in three months. They join you at a table, coffees in hand. They thank you for paying, especially because they just found out that they didn't get the big promotion at work. Your stomach drops, because today was the day. You had debated with yourself for weeks about if this was actually the best choice for you. You know you love them, but the last few months have been off. Today was the day you were breaking things off. It has to be today.

The two of you make some small talk. It has been 2 minutes, but it feels like hours. They notice your demeanor is off and ask what's wrong. You stare at your coffee trying to find the courage to pull the rip-cord. You look at them with an awkward smile, but you are cut off before you can speak. Three quick taps of a microphone play over a P.A. system in the coffee shop. "Thank you everyone for coming out to the open mic. Let's get started with a spoken word piece by, uh, T.W. Worn." Your significant other grasps your hand and leans in. They ask you again, and give a concerned frown. You start to share your feelings but are drowned out by the speaker.

"This piece is called 'Knock 'Em Dead #1 review.' Eliot Rahal (Hot Lunch Special, Midnight Vista) starts off bare bones. Not much plot, just character and room tones. I am sure the best is to come, but I feel like maybe we could have gotten some scares in issue number one, too. The horror feels somewhat lacking in a genre sense. But I guess there's a type of horror when it comes to performing stand-up comedy, which is actually quite intense. Through the main character we get the need for an outlet for someone full of trauma and pain. Someone who feels like much is lost, and so much to gain. I understand the fight to be funny, bombing so hard you use your shirt as a tissue. Elaborated on by visual metaphors so strong I am gonna buy the next issue."

Your significant other asks if you'd like to sit outside and talk. You try to explain yourself again, but it's no hope. T.W. Worn is too loud.

"The art Mattia Monaco is so strong, you could understand everything without words. Expression of face and body so easy to read they might as well be heard. Each panel perfectly framed they'd arrest them for a murder they didn't commit. Accompanied by the colors of Matt Milla (Captain America, Immortal Hulk) make the perfect combo, a clean one-two hit. The lettering of one Taylor Esposito (Constantine, Bodies) is fantastic as well. The scenes where our character tells jokes are replaced with scribbled lines and an emoji of an eggplant. The perfect expression of a bad comedy face plant. Everything on a visual level ties up so well. Will the plot hold it together? Only time will tell."

"Thank you."

The patrons of the coffee shop politely clap. In the quick break of silence you explain how you feel to your significant other. They lean back in heartbreak and defeat. You two sit in silence as T.W. Worn walks by. "Your poetry is shit," your partner says to him.

"I know," he says.

Overall: Knock Em Dead #1 starts off a little underwhelming plot wise, but sets up for a hopefully interesting comic accompanied by fantastic art. 8/10

Review: Knock Em Dead #1

Knock 'Em Dead #1
Writer: Eliot Rahal
Artist: Mattia Monaco
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: Aftershock Comics
Price: $4.99
Sometimes you kill. Sometimes you get killed. But no matter what, everyone dies the first time they go on stage. Pryor Brice has always wanted to be funny. And now, he's taken the plunge and started doing stand-up comedy. Unfortunately, his older sister – Ronan – wants her brother to stop daydream-ing and focus on his future. Pryor is determined to succeed…the only problem is: He totally sucks at stand-up. That is…until an accident changes everything, leading both Pryor and Ronan to discover comedy isn't all it's cracked up to be. KNOCK 'EM DEAD is a supernatural horror about comedy, brought to you by writer Eliot Rahal (MIDNIGHT VISTA, HOT LUNCH SPECIAL) and artist Mattia Monaco.
Release Date: December 2, 2020

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I'm T.W. Worn and I beat the bongo drums.