Exterminators vol.1

I finally got down to buying the final two volumes of The Exterminators by Simon Oliver and Tony Moore, and once I started, I couldn’t put them down until I was done.

The story starts simply. Henry James joins Bug Bee Gone, a pest extermination company, where he has all sorts of weird experiences with the pests he exterminates, as well as his colleagues. Along the way we get introduced to a mysterious substance Draxx, which may or may not be related to more aggressive bug attacks.

Before long, it’s revealed that there’s a larger mythology at play and the Exterminators may literally be the Earth’s first and last line of defense against an army of angry bugs.

First off, Simon Oliver isn’t a writer I’ve heard of before, but he’s done a pretty good job here. The story is spread evenly between action, character development and the overarching plot, and you never feel like the pacing is too fast or too slow. The way the characters interweave in each others’ storylines is also masterfully done, and you really feel like each character has his or her own distinct voice. Make no mistake about the plot though, it’s meant to be read as a whole story. So picking up just volume one or two will not give you the same experience as reading all five.

Exterminators vol.5

Tony Moore can absolutely draw the heck out of bugs. You see rooms where the walls are literally covered in roaches and you can’t help but get goosebumps imagining what if your room was in that state. Again, each character has a very distinct visual feel to him or her, and the likelihood of mistaking characters for one another is slim

Overall, this really is an excellent series. One that I picked up not knowing what to expect, but one that got me hooked right from when I read the first volume in 2008. If you’re into exploring comic books that aren’t all superheroes and capes and tights, and enjoy Vertigo’s “mature reader” line and other books like 100 Bullets, Scalped and the like, this book is for you.