Shrugged Vol. 3 Issues 1-3 (Comic Book Review)

By: RogueSymbiote

Shrugged is an ongoing series by Aspen comics. This title centers around a young man named Theo and the two beings from another world who help guide him through life. Ange is an Elysian and Dev is a Nefarian. A council from Perspecta assigns every human a representative from both races at the time of their birth. Essentially, the pair of beings serve as Theo's conscious. They each have very specific attributes they try to instill in the young man, which leads to some confrontation on their part. While departing for a road trip with some friends, Theo and his influencers begin to feel like something is not quite right.

Story Arc

In celebration of recently graduating high school, Theo, Thom and Kiori set off for a road trip. While this should be an exciting time, tension between Theo and Kiori put a damper on the journey. They had a bit of drama at their school dance recently that forced a wedge between them. Theo attempts to mend the relationship, but the opposing voices of Ange and Dev in his mind just make things worse. Not long after starting the trip, Theo, Ange and Dev begin to feel something is very wrong which turns into pain. Theo nearly crashes the car and somehow Ange and Dev have become visible in the human world. The trio of friends have seen these other worldly beings before, but this should not be possible in their world. Ange deduces that something very wrong must be occurring back in Perspecta.

Back in Perspecta, Lord Magnuss attempts to maintain order between the Elysians and Nefarians. A previous threat to their world was averted with the help of Theo and his friends. The populace grows more concerned that security measures are not being handled appropriately. An explosion erupts near their rally and we learn that an uprising of Nefarians is being orchestrated by a new villain with evil intentions. Lord Magnuss learns that as humans had become more "free" in the 60's and 70's, the Nefarians were given more influence on mankind. He also discovers that the Nefs have been wronged by Perspecta leadership in the past, which may be tied to the current predicament.Back on Earth, Theo and his friends have stopped to get gas and stock up on supplies. Dev is mistaken for a bear and is chased after by locals. Thom is able to deter the hunters and saves the petrified Nefarian. After returning to the road, the group is startled when the highway begins to collapse in front of them. Theo whips the car around and Dev is thrown from the Vehicle. They attempt to save him, but they all fall together. After surviving the fall, Dev gets sick and throws up what appears to be a miniature version of himself.The miniature Dev calls himself George and begins to eat as much food as he possibly can. The party is forced to stop at a grocery store which turns into a very bad decision. George takes off and begins to eat everything in site. The group eventually finds the critter in the back room, but he's not so mini anymore. George has become massive and breaks through the ceiling of the store. He grabs Dev and proceeds to drop him from a very high elevation. It is implied that during a party with other Nefarians, that Dev was slipped something in one of his drinks under the direction of the being behind the attacks on Perspecta. Issue 3 concludes with Lord Magnuss being confronted by a Nefarian declaring war upon the Elysians to regain control of Perspecta.

Comic Review

I'll be honest, I have never read Shrugged before now. The series is in it's third volume, but it did a very good job at catching me up to speed. I felt like I was able to grasp the main concepts fairly quick and throw myself into this world. I enjoy the twist of the angel and devil influences being assigned from an alternative world. I was a little thrown off why no one in the car was freaking out when Ange and Dev appeared, but it was soon explained this was not the first time the group had seen these other worldly beings. The art style grew on my. Some panels look better than others, but for the most part it looks good. There are some fun pop culture references. Whether it's name dropping Chris Pratt or quoting McLovin from Superbad, Dev brings the humor to this series.While there are some fun elements in Shrugged, these 3 issues don't seem to have too much happening. I am much more interested in seeing what is occurring on Perspecta than I am with the human world. Obviously the two storylines will be converging very soon, but I wish they had jumped straight into that part of the arc. I don't feel very attached to any character so far, but that probably has more to do with the fact that I haven't read the first 2 volumes. There is definitely some potential for this comic run and I hope the next issue bumps up the excitement.I know it sounds like I didn't like these issues, but it's only because it seems like there is a lot of untapped potential in the story. I am interested to see how things turn out on Perspecta and I hope the story focuses more on that in the coming issues. If you would like to check out Shrugged, click right here to view Aspen Comic's online shop.Note: Aspen Comics provided us with digital review copies in exchange for our honest review.