Image Comics 2015
Written by Jeremy Haun & Jason A. Hurley
Illustrated by Jeremy Haun
Coloured by John Rauch
Okay so the premise is basically a sexually transmitted disease makes you beautiful at least physically and for the first time in human history it’s an STD that people actually want to get. Those that are detractors of it however look upon those that do have with disdain and mistrust. But what if you are already one of the pretty people that’s got to be hard when you don’t have the disease and people think you do but that’s a tangent i’m not going to explore now.
On a crowded subway train a young woman suffers a new side effect of the disease as she coughs up this black substance and then explodes and the condition of her body is one best left to Jeremy imagination and not my description. There’s a department in the police that deals with Beauty related stuff but this time however they are called off the case by the CDC. So what at first glance appears to be a targeted attack on a person with the disease is suddenly taken from them with no explanation and placed under the CDC’s jurisdiction.
Now this raises all kinds of new questions, is this a mutation of the disease? Will others who have contracted Beauty be facing a similar fate? How much does the CDC know about this and did they expect it to happen? It is a disease after all and while the results of contracting are appealing it’s still a disease and they are known to mutate, change and grow so is this just the logical next phase of it? That’s what two detectives, the ones the CDC called off the case want to know.
Vaughn is a female detective who also has contracted the disease and now with this newest development she fears for herself and what could be next. After all she didn’t seek this out nor did she want it it was given to her without her knowledge or consent. That sounds familiar with many sexually diseases one of which I am intimately familiar and it also has the side effect of death if not careful. Her partner Foster well keep an eye on him and his wife because this issue for more clues about what’s happening with them as Vaughn seems to be an integral part of their relationship and there’s also something else there.
Sometimes a conspiracy theorist isn’t crazy he’s smart follows both sides of the argument and can get to the bottom of something while those around him view him with suspicion and mistrust. Eddie Bennet may have answers they are looking for and he seems to know more than he should be will he be able to tell them anything is the real question here.
So far this off to smashing start. The lead characters are interesting, intelligent and befuddled by what’s going on they are also being hampered in what they can do by the Center for Disease Control whose keeping a tight seal on what they know. There’s this whole thing centered on a disease we really know nothing about that seems to be more dangerous than anyone is admitting and it’s captures the imagination, piques your curiosity and has a few nice twists and turns. It’s really a strong first issue.
The interior artwork is pretty sweet. The contrast between normal people and Beauties well that is evident and then moments like what happens on the subway with it’s bright pop of colour illuminating the panel is extremely well done. Also i’ve noticed that those with Beauty seems to have this glow and brightness about them that separates them from those that don’t making more easy to recognize. It’s subtle and pretty darn effective!
You’ve got to check this out you’ll be more than pleasantly surprised.