Bigger Than Capes

Written by: Jeff McComsey and Dan Panosian
Art by: Javier Pulido
Shawn Crystal

Firstly, before I even get into this review, I really enjoyed this and I will get into it after the preamble.

Our story is of a composed ER doctor called Dr. Chen who stumbles quite accidentally onto a secret about the hospital she works in; the basement provides healthcare for extra-terrestrials. What follows is a doctor thrown into a tricky situation involving a patient which could spell dire consequences not simply for the hospital, but for the planet as a whole.

Now where to start? The writing from this first issue alone engaged me. Whatever the series as a whole is going to explore, I felt like I read a high quality one shot with a start, middle and end. The pacing didn’t make me feel like I’d been rushed to get to the final pages. The main characters are introduced and we’re given enough to sate us for the time being with opportunities to learn more. Dr. Chen acts as the reader’s perspective, completely confused as to what the heck is going on. Dr. Mobray acts as an experienced (and at times too calm for his own good) senior doctor who has in a sense brought Dr. Chen into this world. I felt satisfied by what I’ve read and want to know what new cases the next issue will bring!!

The art pops. The colour pallet and the line work actually reminds me of Love and Rockets full colour comics. It’s needed to show the strange E.T.s you see in this book and it delivers.

I haven’t been as excited for a series like this in a while and it probably comes from my love for punchy, well-paced vignette style writing. I love 2000AD for this and I have also been reading Moon Knight: Red, White & Blood recently out of love for shorter stories.

I’ve also only recently came across AWA which feels like as a publisher it’s trying to be the next Image Comics. I read Casual Fling and Redemption and yet again, it shows the varied story telling this company is trying to get out there and I am all for it.