A new mini series, Harvest #1 offers a dark opening into a cruel and terrible underworld, all told with a wonderfully deep and atmospheric opening issue.

First, the official description from Image:

Human traffickers. Rogue medical teams. Yakuza run organ mills and a six year-old drug fiend. Welcome to Dr. Benjamin Dane’s nightmare. His only way out? Bring down the man who set him up by reclaiming organs already placed in some very powerful people. If Dexter, ER and 100 Bullets had a three-way and that mind blowing tryst somehow resulted in a kid, that kid would read HARVEST. Medical Grade Revenge.

There are very few descriptions like that, and the comic certainly does it justice. Harvest #1 oozes flavor and atmosphere. Its dark, its gritty and its disturbing – and it gets away with it.

Without spoiling any of the story, Harvest focuses on the underground organs trade. Featuring disgraced surgeons, seedy criminals and their customers, the title explores a dark part of society; the added realism further pushing the twisted themes of the title through.

The writing feels natural, and the world is very grounded, there’s no outlandish equipment or magic. Even the humble medical dialogue between surgeons ensures its sense of realism across in an otherwise nightmarish event.

Opening with a tense, yet exciting start, this title wastes no time in making the reader wait. It jumps straight into its world, and thrives on it. The artwork sells this well; the dark colors and contrasts making even the slightest red blood stain stand out. The contrast between darkened alley ways and clean, clinical, sterile whites offers further contrast, depicting the confusing world the various characters find themselves in.

As for the characters themselves, Harvest looks set to be a title that takes the ‘no one is innocent’ approach. There is no clear hero here, even the humblest child can be menacing. This is, in no way, for anyone looking for a lighthearted romp.

In closing, I am highly impressed by Harvest #1. Not just because of its themes and bravery, but because it looks to also be telling a decent story and narrative in between. This isn’t shocking for the sake of being shocking; its shocking because its pulled off with a disturbing sense of reality.

4/5