ARA Review by Josiah Akhtab of Saint

[Josiah Akhtab]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Saint.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Saint is a story about a young boy that grows up to be a superhero; however, after being killed by a drug lord, he is then taken to another realm where he is given abilities and goes on to fight and take down the crime syndicate once and for all. Throughout the story, Jake Barker aka Saint, fights not only external battles but internal ones as he measures his own actions against the heroes he aspired to be like in the comics he read growing up. Jake questions himself in whether he is worthy of being a superhero and handling the responsibility of doing what he's always wanted to do. . . help people.

This story is a 5/5 stars as it is everything a superhero comic should be, not only with the cool fight sequences and amazing artwork but with the dialogue and philosophical and moral questions the book poses. The other part that was striking about this story is the irony in a superhero named Saint that, apparently, has no problem killing bad guys when deemed necessary. The hero Saint proves to be just as human and imperfect as everyone else and doesn't try to live up to the impossible metric of not killing people. Saint demonstrates throughout the story a thorough understanding of utilitarianism when faced with the choice of killing one to save many.

This story also presents a more realistic view of the nature of the world with the character, Judge, being a representation of balance rather than God. The story Saint is a story about maintaining the balance between good and evil rather than ensuring that good will always prevail. It is also one of the shorter comics which does well to keep the reader invested and leave them wanting more. The artwork and the costume of the hero Saint is also pretty cool to behold and can be a possible play of symbolism as the police wear blue which means to protect and serve. That one may be a bit of a stretch but the parallel exists.

All in all, Saint is a fun read for anyone that wants to get into comics and superhero stories without being overwhelmed by the abundance that are the Marvel and DC universes. This is a story that I would definitely read again and a story I highly recommend everyone read for the first time.

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