Blair Butler and Kevin Mellon Come Out Swinging With ‘Heart’ #1 [Preview]

Whether the thought of mixed martial arts makes you want to TapouT or you regularly catch fights in every flavor of octagon, G4's Blair Bulter, Kevin Mellon (Lovestruck artist and occasional CA art contributor) and Crank! aim to deliver a story that's pure passion in their four-issue series Heart from Image Comics. Dropping today in stores and digitally on comiXology, Heart #1 introduces readers to Oren 'Rooster' Redmond, a young man who breaks free from somewhat self-inflicted apathy and isolation by entering the lower rungs of the world of MMA. Over 26 pages, Oren narrates his way around cliche territory to become a sympathetic protagonist. He's the everyman of Generation Y who just so happens to come of age by beating strangers senseless for a paying audience.

From Image Comics' official solicitation info:

Mixed Martial Arts and comics collide when an office drone named Oren 'Rooster' Redmond follows his older brother into the fiercely competitive world of professional MMA. With nothing left to lose, Oren hopes to find his purpose in fighting - but does passion equal proficiency? Does Oren truly have the heart of a champion? Find out in the first chapter of this four-issue series.

Heart may not change anyone's feelings about MMA fights, but it will have readers reexamining their feelings about what drives some MMA fighters. Everyone knows someone like Oren -- a friend who spends three nights a week playing shows with a band that probably won't ever get signed, a relative who puts every hour of their day into a start-up company even when the economy's broken, an activist struggling to change the way people think -- or maybe they're facing an uphill battle of their own. As anyone in contact with friends from high school on social media understands, not all of these kinds of struggles are worth watching unfold. In the case of Heart, however, fans are going to want to see Oren's trials and tribulations through.

Check out the first five pages of Heart #1 below:

Filed Under: Blair Butler, BlairButler, Crank, heart, Kevin Mellon, KevinMellon, MMA

Categories: Image, Previews