Review – The Sixsmiths by J. Marc Schmidt (artist) and Jason Franks (writer)

The Sixsmiths is an independent Australian black and white graphic novel produced in the digest size format chronicling the life of a family of urban Satanists.

After father Ralf loses his job, the Sixsmiths have to make a few sacrifices (literally) which include children Cain and Lilith changing from private to public schooling. As Ralf encounters ups and downs in his search for work, mother Annie tries to hold everything together through numerous obligatory religious ceremonies and family dramas. While being Satanists gets Cain and Lilith attention at their new school, the religion itself gets in the way of their social life. Satanism it seems is just as much an impediment as Christianity or any other religion which children follow only because it’s their parents’ faith. Jezabelle, the Sixsmith’s estranged eldest daughter, the “black sheep” of the family, has rejected Satanism and decided to become a Buddhist nun. She provides my favourite line in the book: ‘Well, Satan can go and get fucked!’

It’s easy to say that being Satanists, the Sixsmiths are no ordinary family, but that’s not the case. In fact it’s their ordinariness that makes this book a little gem. The Sixsmiths is a book of small wonders as we experience the life of this Satanist family. There’s no big revelations or major plot twists, just a normal Satanist family’s struggle with everyday life. Having experienced the “joys” of unemployment, I found myself sympathising with Ralf on his emotional job-hunting rollercoaster. Annie is your typical caring mother (albeit one who attends church orgies every week) and Cain and Lilith (apart from their tattoos) are your normal bored and emotionally uneven teenagers grappling with the opposite sex and making new friends.

That the religious aspect is treated so matter-of-factly is where the The Sixsmiths provides plenty of out-loud chuckling. Whether it’s Ralf feeling like he hasn’t sinned enough lately or Lilith complaining about having to listen to black metal band Venom again, the almost absurd nature of religion as convention is revealed.

Divided into sixteen digestible chapters, Franks paces the narrative deftly when it could have easily fallen quickly into the mundane and gives each character simple but effective motivations. Schmidt’s uncluttered artwork provides all the detail necessary and compliments Franks’ story well. Expressions are varied conveying characters’ feelings excellently and all characters are distinctly recognisable. The artwork is in some way reminiscent of more animated cartoon production such as Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, and more recently Ugly Americans. In fact, I could see The Sixsmiths translating to the animated cartoon medium without much trouble at all, Satan willing...

Let it be known too that The Sixsmiths isn’t stand alone with a development at the end which sees the story continuing into another volume, and I for one am looking forward to it.

For an easy read with good comedic value, there’s no need to sacrifice a pigeon, just grab a copy of The Sixsmiths. Thank the Dark Lord! There should be more of it.

For more on the creators go to www.jmarcschmidt.com and www.jasonfranks.com.