5 out of 5

The slacker, reluctant hero.  Arcudi has used that focus before and will probably use it again, but it’s the mark of the great writers when they can very obviously continue to play with variations on a theme and make it enjoyable each and every time.  In “Rumble,” it’s Bobby, who’s just out of a breakup and would rather focus on getting a new, hot girlfriend than worry about the resurrected God that’s wandered into the bar where he tends and told him of an ancient battle between good and evil…  Though, of course, it’s not quite that simple.  (Well, it is, but there’s a lot more cool stuff going on than that.)  Arcudi has also spent years plying the trade of world-building in B.P.R.D. and so knows how to properly dribble in the cryptic and strange without alienating his reader; he can start the book in locations unknown with Kirby-esque creatures intoning cryptic prayers and then transition to a three-legged dog peeing on a parking meter in some rundown burgh without skipping a beat.  So many separate elements of the story are introduced in issue one – all explained as the series goes along – and yet you never lose track of where you are in Bob’s tale, and the various cliffhangers of massive sword-wielding creatures or creepos engulfed in flames continue to pack a punch.  Rumble is all the awe of John’s Hellboy work stripped of the years of built-up lore, plus the casual true-to-(embellished-)life humor of classic works like Major Bummer and The Mask.  In all of these cases, John’s always been paired with a fittingly expressive artist, and Rumble is no exception with B.P.R.D.er James Harren delivering delicious designs and atmosphere in each and every panel.  It says something when characterless scenes, with narration that doesn’t necessarily directly relate to that scene, can instantly establish a compelling vibe.  Harren, with gorgeously drecky color schemes by Dave Stewart, accomplish this throughout; the vague, abandoned cityscape in which our drama plays out feels so empty and worn-down; flashbacks to Godly times are epic and unreal.  It’s the perfect environment for our slack-shouldered lead and the junkyard reborn Gods fighting in the streets.

There’s a single dialogue hiccup that’s an attempt to show us that Bobby isn’t completely misguided in his uncaring.  Arcudi occasionally commits these clipped statements, but because it’s generally with a point and rarely abused, it gets a pass.  Otherwise, had this been a mini, the somewhat sudden ending might knock it down a peg, but knowing that it’s an ongoing, it just leaves you wanting more…