THE HOLLOWS is a brand new series from IDW. We don’t get too many non-property titles from the company, (if I remember, the last one was the fantastic Transfusion #1) so it’s always a treat when we see an original new #1. In this case, it’s truly a unique one. Right from the title I thought of Bleach. (Don’t know what that is? Head to your library after reading this review.) That manga also has monsters called Hollows, and they even act in similar ways. Putting that to the side now, THE HOLLOWS #1 is a pretty interesting start. I haven’t read many comics like it, definitely worth giving a look at.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

An all-new series from the creator of The Maxx and the co-creator of Zombies vs Robots! Sam Kieth and Chris Ryall transport you to a near-future Japan, where burned-out husks—the Hollows—wantonly devour souls throughout the city. Far above, a segment of society lives safely in giant tree-cities, but the problems below have a way of growing out of control…

See, doesn’t that sound a little like Bleach? It even takes place in Japan. Anyways, the story here is that Japan has become unlivable because these zombie things called the Hollows roam around and devour souls. So the human population resides in ‘tree-cities,’ most of them anyway. We’re introduced to our main character early on, Craig Mayerik. Aside from his robotic wings, he’s pretty much just a normal guy wanting to help out his family. We see him go down into the Hollow-filled world (after a great conversation between him and Eiko, his wife) looking for supplies. The story is quite fascinating, showing humans getting devoured by these monsters yet Craig won’t help any of them since he’s there for supplies to help his own family. It’s not that he’s a bad guy, he’s just there to help his family, he can’t help out ever single human down there, right? We get some pretty good insight from the girl on the cover, talking about the world under. It’s quite sad when some of the humans are asking him to take them, but he can’t bring all of them, which means he won’t bring any.

The art is very interesting. It’s obviously going for its own unique style. It works for the most part, but sometimes it can look too sketchy. Sometimes the hair looks like squiggly lines you drew as a kid. It does succeed in making the Hollows look creepy however. The cover is rather artistic, almost something Skottie Young would do. A fine cover for this unique series. I’m not sure if it was the intention, but this comic reads very much like a manga would. We even have this little creature (looks like a mutated pig) called Urp, whose only vocabulary is his name, just like a Pokemon. Admittedly he’s a pretty cool addition, not quite for comic relief, just something the reader can smile at.

Overall, a very interesting read. The story is rather complex, but easy to follow. Our main character is a good focus, very human. The Hollows are mindless creatures sadly, which makes sense for this kind of story. Honestly though, there’s not much difference between them and the zombies from The Walking Dead, I hope coming issues establishes them as more than that. The art is hit or miss, it fits the story well, aside from some rather sketchy scenes. All in all, THE HOLLOWS #1 is a comic to check out, lots of content for the price tag. (And I think manga readers will get a kick out of it.)

4/5