BLASFAMOUS #1-2 / Script, Art and Color by MIRKA ANDOLFO / Color Assistance by GIANLUCA PAPI / Letters by MAURIZIO CLAUSI / Localization by STEVE ORLANDO / Published by DSTLRY

Twenty years ago, the Order of the New Church of the Triple Crucifix was formed to reconnect society to spirituality in a new way. This gave rise to a new wave of Saints – spiritual superstars, who performed faith healings in between recording albums and filming movies. A miracle can be yours, provided you’re a fully paid Premium member of the Order’s sacred live-event streaming service.

Clelia is the hottest pop star in the world and the Order’s current cash cow. However, Clelia is troubled by visions of a woman named Marianna and a feeling there’s more to her life than her agent, Father Lev, is telling her. With the help of a new psychiatrist (who is also a fangirl), Clelia hopes to find the peace of mind to finish her new album and prepare for a new tour. What she may find, however, is something else entirely. Something tied to the dark secrets of the Order and her true past.

The first issue of Blasfamous passed me by. Thankfully, when I was offered an advance look at the second issue, I was able to track down a copy of the first. I’m glad I did, because this is easily one of the best works of social satire and supernatural horror I’ve ever read.

Simply put, what Mirka Andolfo has done with this book is phenomenal. The story concept itself is fantastic, with lots of digs at prosperity gospel and consumer culture and a melding that seems inevitable. The world building behind the power of the Order is as complex as anything Neil Gaiman ever wrote. And the artwork, delivered in Andolfo’s trademark shojoesque style is breathtaking throughout.

Blasfamous is a comic that everyone should read. It might make you uncomfortable. It might make you cry. But it is a powerful statement with a hell of a story and sinfully gorgeous artwork. Blasfamous is, pun very much intended, a damned good book.

Blasfamous #1-2 are available on-line and at comic shops everywhere.