THE DYING AND THE DEAD #1 Review

Has Jonathan Hickman created yet another hit? Or is this a miss? Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

“TODAY, TOMORROW, THE GRAVE” A murder at a wedding reveals a fifty year-old secret. At great cost, a man with a dying wife is given the opportunity to save her. A lost tribe is reborn in another time. All seemingly disparate events which force relics from the Greatest Generation to come together for one last mission. Brought to you by award-winning writer JONATHAN HICKMAN and fan-favorite artist, RYAN BODENHEIM, THE DYING AND THE DEAD is high adventure meets end-of-life. 60 pages of story!

I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of Jonathan Hickman‘s work. Despite the writer/creator gaining critical acclaim for various series, both independent and within the big two, I’ve personally never been overly invested in any, finding some a little overrated. Now this doesn’t mean that I don’t like his work, having followed several different series from the writer. That being said, I have been looking forward to The Dying and the Dead, and now that it’s finally out, I can divulge whether I’m more enthusiastic about this, than I have about Hickman’s other work.

Giving us an oversized sixty page first issue, Jonathan Hickman once again does a fine job of kickstarting another intriguing concept. Though it’s yet to be determined whether this series can hold it’s own in the long run, it’s first issue certainly has this fanboy captivated, with Hickman’s weird style of storytelling being extremely alluring. He also manages to manages to inject several different types of emotion into his script, as between the mysterious family affair near the start of this issue, and the heartwarming motives of protagonist, Colonel Edward James Canning, there’s plenty of dramatic elements.

Joining Hickman on this series is none other than his Secret and A Red Mass for Mars collaborator, Ryan Bodenheim. Delivering exquisitely detailed panels, Bodenheim creates a fabulous look for this tale, with his bold lines allowing for a lot of depth. He also manages to convey the emotion within Hickman’s script wonderfully, as though some facial expressions feel a little stiff, the drama and atmosphere within is extremely striking. The colours of Michael Garland also prove fascinating, with his soft palette complimenting Bodenheim’s visuals wonderfully, as well as matching the familiar tone that has been built throughout Hickman’s various titles.

The Dying and the Dead gets off to a terrific start, as though the story naturally still need to prove whether it’s worthy of a permanent spot of fans pull lists, it easily does enough to merit picking up the second issue. Highly recommended.