Exclusive DC Comics Preview: 'The Curse of Brimstone' #3

DC has provided ComicBook.com with an exclusive preview from next week's The Curse of Brimstone #3 from artist Philip Tan and writer Justin Jordan.

While the rest of DC's "New Age of Heroes" titles are being promoted as artist-driven projects, Brimstone is very much a reflection of Justin Jordan, a native of Pennsylvania coal country who was working on a similar concept when DC came to him for pitches.

"The Curse of Brimstone is kind of a superhero horror book, which is kind of what I broke into comics with," Jordan told ComicBook.com. "That's what The Strange Talent of Luther Strode is, although we're doing very different kinds of horror in each one."

The horror is a bit more traditional in The Curse of Brimstone, which has drawn comparisons to Ghost Rider and other deal-with-the-devil narratives.

Jordan compares the idea to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which took existential horrors that everyone can relate to and made them into larger-than-life, supernatural horrors that could embody your worst fears.

"What Brimstone's actually about is, basically this kid grows up in this no-nothing town. He has no prospects of getting out. He's too poor to move, he can't go to school. He sees that his sister's probably going to go the same way even though she's smarter than he is and could do better. He sees this town has died in his lifetime. The elementary school he went to has closed down. A man called The Salesman comes and he makes him an offer: he says, I will give you what you want; I will give you the ability to make this town great, make this town somewhere people want to visit. You just have to be the agent for these people I work for. He foolishly agrees, and it turns out that's a curse, not a deal."

The Curse of Brimstone #3 Gallery

"Brimstone is this kind of supernaturally-charged version of him," Jordan said of the series' hero, Joe."He gets these powers and he decides to do good, to prevent The Salesman from doing this to other towns, but the problem is, Brimstone really is a curse. How can you use a fundamentally evil power to do good? Can you do it? I talked to Dan DiDio about it, and it's kind of like a firebreak. If there's a fire coming, and you need to stop it, you can burn down part of the forest to do it, but you're still starting another fire and it can do unpredictable things. Brimstone is fighting supernatural evil, but he is himself supernatural evil. The more he is used, is he making the world worse or is he actually improving things? That kind of stuff has always interested me. If you look at my superhero career, the idea of what power means, what you can do with it, and what it does to an individual is something that's always interested me."

You can see the preview pages in the attached image gallery, and the official solicitation text below.

It's tragic enough that Brimstone's town was set on fire by his own hands, but now…his father?! Turning Joe into Brimstone was just for fun—the Salesman now holds Joe's father hostage as well! Brimstone must fight the Salesman's ice creaturess, the Hound, to save his father from her clutches. But without knowing exactly what his fiery powers wield, how can Brimstone be sure he won't accidentally destroy another town…or himself.