Monday, March 14, 2016

The Violent 3



The Violent: Blood Like Tar, Issue #3 starts with Mason's arm bandaged.  At first, I thought his arm was tied up so he could shoot up, but I remembered Issue #2.  The fight with Joel.  Joel ending up dead.  Dylan witnessing it.  Becky missing.  Becky turns up in this episode, having overdosed on heroin a few days earlier and having been brought into the hospital under a pseudonym.  Kaitlyn is with Becky's mother, and the three of them are reunited.

A common mistake an addict makes when getting back on the stuff is using as much as she used when they stopped.  Her system isn't ready for it, and her body goes into overdose.  Her blood pressure drops.  Her body forgets to breathe.  Ironically, if she had just continued to use heroin for those years instead of becoming clean for three or four years, Becky would not have overdosed.  Most ODs come when someone gets off skag and gets back on it, although there are plenty of ways to die from heroin besides overdosing.

This is a violent comic, as I mentioned in my previous reviews, and Adam Gorham's realistic artwork only makes it more disturbing.  A corpse chewed by a hungry dog will always elicit a strong response.  I was at a men's AA meeting when someone said that violence is as addictive as alcohol.  Men's AA meetings are for men only, of course, and the men talk about what they shouldn't talk about in front of women.  I don't go to AA meetings anymore, but I cherish my sobriety, and The Violent reminds me why.

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