Those that read the reviews I do for teamhellions.com know that I mostly do music reviews. Occasionally I’ll do a book review, rant about some paranormal stuff; there is one comic that I am absolutely devoted to every month; Locke & Key. From time to time, I come across crossovers that blend together two of my interests. 27 (Twenty-Seven) does that in stunning and inventive ways that go beyond music and comics into the perfect synthesis of art. I’ve been a huge fan of this series for a while now, and it’s high time I pass it along in a creative enough way to you.

The story centers around Will Garland, lead singer/guitarists/songwriter of the LA band The Fuzz. They’ve just wrapped up their tour after climbing to the top. One year later and the band is kaput, Garland’s left hand suffers from a condition known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, causing nerve damage to the hand, and leaving few options for treatment. In Garland’s quest, he has stopped at nothing to get back the ability to play; going to doctors, faith healers, voodoo specialists, and last but not least, a doctor he found on the internet.

After going through a strange procedure involving deals with other-dimensional beings, cats, and crazy machines, Garland emerges with a device in his chest that he has no understanding of, and the mad doctor is dead (actually more like destroyed). From there, 27 (Twenty-Seven) explores the device in Will’s chest, and the amazing stuff it does; the beings that granted him this power, and even an appearance from Jim Morrison.

27 (Twenty-Seven) is extremely well researched, as a reader, it’s easy to tell that Charles Soule is a huge music fan, and the insight he offers from Django Reinhardt’s accident (yeah most of you don’t even know who Reinhardt is), to Leo Kottke, and many other music references here. This is a really smart book; what Soule does with the number twenty-seven itself is also genius, as it is the catalyst for all this, the math will have your mind blown in a repeat of the Beatles’ “No. 9”. Renzo Podesta’s art is amazing, and here he captures that musical atmosphere stunningly well, and his work in the ethereal dimensions of these other being is quite staggering as well.

If this isn’t a series you have checked out yet, what the hell are you waiting for: 27 (Twenty-Seven), Charles Soule, Renzo Podesta, Image Comics, Get It!