When a hit goes sideways, Gehenna finds herself taking care of her target’s very own kid. Your Major Spoilers review of Gehenna: Naked Aggression #1 from Image Comics awaits!
GEHENNA: NAKED AGGRESSION #1
Writer: Patrick Kindlon
Artist: Maurizio Rosenzweig
Colorist: Matteo Vattani
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 2nd, 2025
Previously in Gehenna: Naked Aggression: Gehenna once had a normal life, until a terrible happenstance put an end to all of that. Since then, she’s found herself on the bounty list of every major crime syndicate, after she began exacting her revenge.
ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
Gehenna: Naked Aggression #1 starts off in the middle of a fist fight that quickly becomes a gunfight. Gehenna is on the run from a group of armed bodyguards, and her only shield is the child of the man she had originally come to kill. Taking him along with her, she makes her way through a mansion where she’s able to find a new gun. On the rooftops, the duo makes a daring escape across a gap. Gehenna begins to fill in the kid as to why she ended up the way she is, and why she’s after his dad. Back on the streets, they find themselves on the run through an alley. Later on, a woman arrives at the aftermath. After doing a bit of investigating, she sets out to find Gehenna.
FORMAT NOT HELPING THIS ONE
Gehenna: Naked Aggression originally got its start as a serialized tale that appeared in an anthology from Image, and you can definitely tell. The issue is broken up into chapters, with each chapter being just a few pages, and each one of those pages is packed with action, gunfire, and blood. But there isn’t a whole lot to connect these chapters, making them feel disjointed and lacking substance. Now, if all we were getting was one of these chapters at a time, it would be understandable that there wouldn’t be a lot of connective tissue, but as a single product, it feels sort of empty. It’s clear that what the creators are going for is just pure action, and to be fair, the action is pretty good. There are some clever and brutal kills, the characters are constantly on the move, and the main characters do feel like they are in peril. There is an attempt to add some emotional depth to Gehenna, but it’s not very interesting and feels more like an afterthought. If you want just some straight-up action, this will deliver that, but don’t expect an engaging story to frame that action.
SOLID LOOK, SHAKY IN SPOTS
Gehenna: Naked Aggression #1 is a grimy and gritty comic with an art style to match. Every panel is covered in crosshatching, making everything and everybody look like they’ve been dragged across the asphalt and broken glass. There are also some unique angles being employed that keep things visually interesting. But it’s some of these angles that also create the biggest issues with the art. Sometimes, it’s just hard to see what is going on and sometimes, something is framed in a way that doesn’t add anything, it just looks like it was done to be different. Color is a new addition to this title, but it doesn’t add much to things. It looks nice, but it doesn’t transform the book in a meaningful way.
BOTTOM LINE: NOT ENOUGH OF THIS IS WORKING
Gehenna: Naked Aggression #1 has some stuff working for it. The action is great, it feels exciting, and it has a strong style that keeps it visually unique and interesting. The problem is that this is all this issue has. There’s a hint of a bigger plot going on, but we don’t get to see much of that. There’s a distinct lack of context and emotional investment, which makes this come off as more spectacle than anything. There are also some pacing issues, as this title struggles to move from a serialized format to something a bit more long-form. 2.5 out of 5 stars.
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Gehenna: Naked Aggression #1
Gehenna: Naked Aggression #1 does a couple of things right. It has good action, and it looks cool. But, after that there just isn’t much here. There’s a lack of a compelling story or characters and even if the goal was to have a grindhouse style adrenaline-fest, it’s not sexy or violent enough to achieve that.
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Writing4
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Art8
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Coloring5
At a young age, Jonathan was dragged to a small town in Wisconsin. A small town in Wisconsin that just so happened to have a comic book shop. Faced with a decision to either spend the humid summers and bitter winters traipsing through the pine trees or in climate controlled comfort with tales of adventure, horror, and romance, he chose the latter. Jonathan can often be found playing video games, board games, reading comics and wincing as his “to watch” list grows wildly out of control.