I met a lot of amazing people at New York Comic Con. People I pitched to, people I talked to, people I did a little unprofessional fan-gushing over (hey, every comic book writer was a fan first), people I bought stuff from, and people who gave me their books. There was a lot of stuff to process after the con, and my mind was admittedly more on the connections I'd made that would be able to elevate my career.
However, there was a certain book that I'd grabbed that stuck with me... and that book is The Beauty by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley. I remembered the book partly because they pitched it well... but mostly because the concept is aces. The series explores the fallout of an STD that has become coveted by the mass public. Weird, right? Does this comic explore the underground "bug chaser" community?*
Nope - this is the kind of STD that makes the carrier more physically attractive. And it doesn't seem to have any negative fallout... until now.
Check out that dramatic ellipsis.
Anyway, I read the book, and it's solid. The writing is good and the art is good. The art kind of reminds me of the work of one Mr. Stephen Mooney, who drew my Angel comic, which is a very very good thing. The plot is slow-moving and builds intrigue around the central mystery and all that fun stuff. It's not done in a particularly innovative way, but it pulls off the one thing that all comics like these should aspire to do.
We'll get to that.
First, a bit of background on what this book is. It's a part of Top Cow/Image's Pilot Season series. Essentially, Pilot Season is a sequence of new #1s by different creative teams. After all of the books have been released, readers vote on which series they would like to see as an ongoing. Very, very cool.
From the preview of #1 at IGN.com
The Beauty needs to win. It absolutely has to. I say this because this book does the one thing that these books are supposed to do, and it does it so well. Yes, the concept is absolutely brilliant. Yes, the comic itself is enjoyable. Want to know what drove me to write this blog, though?
I have to know what happens next, goddammit.
Excellent job to both Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, both of whom I talked to at the convention and both of whom were great, great folks. And we need more of those kind of guys and these kind of ideas in the industry.
So when it comes time to vote, I'd encourage you to consider The Beauty. It's a goodun.
From the preview of #1 at IGN.com
Click here for more info on Pilot Season and The Beauty.
* For more a play that does explore the bug chaser community, check out ANIMALS COMMIT SUICIDE by my good friend J. Julian Christopher.
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