Top Cow Productions/Image Comics 2020
Created & Written by Matt Hawkins
Created & Illustrated by Colleen Doran
Coloured by Bryan Valenza
Lettered by Troy Peteri
When aggressive cancer begins spreading through humanity like a virus, one scientist will sacrifice anything for answers. Is it a global eugenics conspiracy? The beginning of World War III? And can he get to the bottom of it before it takes what’s left of his family?
I digging this. The idea of weaponising cancer, or any other disease, is one that isn't so far fetched. Look at bio-warfare and tell me where it got it's start because that's what this is. It is just taking an avenue that has never been seen before and that is both scary as hell and thrilling as all get out. In our modern age this would seem to be one of just a few scenarios for me, big pharma and their need to sell the cure or steps to halt it so they make even more money and feel like they have power or an ethnic cleansing with the United States current climate would be entirely plausible. So very effectively here Matt is writing something that engages the reader, makes them think and in effect become a part of the narrative.
I am enjoying the way that this is being told a whole heck of a lot. There is a pace at which we see things occurring here that I wasn't expecting to see but it certainly add a lot to how we see things. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold and how the reader learns information is presented extremely well. I could do without seeing some events happening but then again there's a reason I am not a writer. Because the way the story unfolds I see conspiracy around every corner and turn that he makes. The character development is interesting because while yes he's a scientist I cannot fathom how someone can be so clueless as to what's happening around them. Though I suspect that this may change and I look forward to seeing his character develop further. The pacing is sensational and the pace at which we see situations and circumstances develop is phenomenal. The way that we see all this working together to create the books overall ebb & flow is a medical thriller par excellence.
I love Colleen's work she has this way of creating such beauty and grace with her work. The linework is beautifully laid down and how we see the varying weights being utilised to show off this level of attention to detail. The faces, facial expressions and body language that we see do wonders in furthering the characterisation in ways words alone cannot do. Though that strategic placement of the towel is a moment I will wonder about heh. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a mastery for storytelling. To see the backgrounds being utilised is nice to see, yes I want more, and it certainly brings us this nice depth perception, scale and overall sense of size and scope within the composition of the panels. The colour work we see is really stunning as well. The way we see the reflection in the floors is fantastic. The way that we see the hues and tones within the colours create the shading, highlights and shadow work is really stunning work.
The medical thriller is a genre we rarely see, even in novels, so to see it here and to see it done this exceptionally well is mindbogglingly good. This stacks up with the likes of Alex Kava or Michael Crichton and we're only in the second issue so I can't imagine what it's going to be like as the story continues. This is why I love Matt, the way his mind works and his desire to tell stories that no one else is seemingly capable of doing.