Excommunicated #1 Review
Sister Josephine has been barred from the church after an exorcism. But the demon she cast out seems more than willing to talk with her.—by Jonathan Cadotte
EXCOMMUNICATED #1
Writer: Jeremy Robinson
Artist: Tiago Palma
Colorist: Manuel J. Rodriguez
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Editor: Kane Gilmour
Publisher: Vault Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 6th, 2026
Previously in Excommunicated, Sister Josephine was a devout nun, until one day she was called to assist in an exorcism. When things go wrong, the blame falls solely on her shoulders. Next thing she knows, the church she has served dutifully has excommunicated her.
Get Behind Thee
Excommunicated #1 opens with Sister Josephine praying in a cathedral when she receives a call on her phone. On the other side of the line is Father McDonough, who is in the middle of an intense exorcism. He says that he needs her help and that his life is in danger. Sister Josephine goes to the exorcism and witnesses the demon hovering above the proceedings. Father McDonough doesn’t survive the exorcism, forcing Josephine to finish it. Afterward, the person who had been possessed also passes away. Later, a council decides that Josephine should not have ever gone to the exorcism, and for her actions, she is excommunicated. She’s given a temporary place to stay, but her first night there also comes with an unexpected visitor.
Failing To Deliver the Message
Excommunicated #1 introduces the readers to a title with an intriguing and unique premise, a nun and a demon are both removed from their church and have to join forces to stop some sort of plot. Here’s the problem, only about a quarter of that premise is shown in the actual comic; the rest of it a reader would have no clue about unless they read the solicitations. The best you get is a few cryptic lines that don’t sound like anything like how someone would actually speak; they hint at something deeper going on. It’s simply a frustrating sort of read where the comic simply doesn’t deliver on its promises. Even the cliffhanger at the end doesn’t feel like a true shock ending, but more like a scene that is artificially cut off in the middle. All that being said, there is some solid work here in terms of giving Sister Josephine a noticeable personality, even though she is somewhat of a passive protagonist through these opening events, and there’s not a lot of opportunity for her to speak. Little behaviours and subtle reactions are used effectively to paint a picture that dialogue wasn’t given an opportunity to.
Good Design Work, With a Side of Cheesecake
The art in Excommunicated #1 is filled with exaggerated and contorted human forms. But rather than having this style for the sake of having it, these distortions of faces, limbs, and bodies come off as if they’re that way for a reason, either to accentuate a certain emotion or to pull a response from the reader. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think it works well here. On top of that, the way the demon looks is sufficiently unsettling and imaginative. Overall, this book has a good look that works well. It was an odd decision to keep Josephine in her underwear, naked, or in a towel for a good portion of the issue. It doesn’t add much to the storytelling, which makes it come across like it’s just there to add some T&A.
Bottom Line: Wasted Potential
Excommunicated #1 betrays its own premise by simply not having it show up on its pages. While I have no doubt that future issues will flesh things out, the fact that I had to rely on advertising to understand what this title is all about suggests a serious pacing problem. The visuals are good, though, but I can’t say that they’re good enough to make up for the shortcomings of storytelling. 2 out of 5 stars.
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