Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: Incarnate, Part One
Written by: Phil Hester
Illustrated by: John McCrea
Lettered by: Nate Pride
Cover by: Ken Meyer Jr.
Publisher: Desperado Publishing > Image Comics
What a great week for Phil Hester. Not only did he start his run as regular penciler on DC’s Nightwing, but his creator owned series The Atheist kicked off. I really enjoyed Mr. Hester’s work on Green Arrow. The move to Nightwing one of DC’s best titles, is a good one in my mind. When I saw that Mr. Hester was writing his own series, with former Hitman artist John McCrea, I had to give it a look.
Antoine Sharpe is the titular character of The Atheist. He works for a government agency; essentially he troubleshoots all manner of problems that appear occult or mystical in origin. Sharpe is ruled entirely by logic, and has used his powers of perception to find a mundane reason for each case. The Atheist is a fitting name for the character that believes in nothing but what he discovers for himself. Sharpe doesn’t call himself The Atheist, that’s a nickname that fellow agents use…behind his back, of course.
When a book is squarely centered on one character, he better be compelling. Sharpe turns out to be an interesting leading character. He’s Mr. Spock with a mean streak. The quirks of the character make him a fantastic leading presence. We are introduced to Sharpe as he wraps up a case against a doomsday cult. As the issue progresses we learn a little more about Sharpe as the particulars of his next case become available.
Phil Hester fashions a cool mystery surrounding dead people returning to life in already living bodies. Don’t think this is yet another zombie story building on that recent fad. Hester does something totally different. The dead are sick of hanging out in purgatory, so they’ve found a way to return to living hosts. Essentially we’re talking about parasites here. Yet, there’s no major sci-fi element of endless hordes of these people trying to overrun the world. Hester has something a lot more original. All of these people like to take their new body out for a joyride of binge drinking, sex, and just about any other fun activity that they can. Adding spice to the story is that many of those returning are the dregs of the past. Hester adds a bit more mystery as it’s largely teenagers being affected and for some inexplicable reason they all end up in Winnipeg.
John McCrea captures the spirit–pun very much intended–of Hester’s script superbly. McCrea’s style fits the realistic tone of the world, but also catches the sardonic wit. McCrea has no trouble keeping up with Hester’s fast-paced scripting, as we’re introduced to the problem that The Atheist will soon be dealing with. McCrea captures each of the new characters and settings skillfully, then moves us on to the next. McCrea doesn’t have any trouble introducing Sharpe during the close of his previous case or moving things along within the agency walls. There’s a lot going on, but the book never feels cramped. John McCrea was absolutely the perfect man for this book.
A premiere issue needs to do a lot to get me to buy the next installment. The Atheist did everything it needed and more. I’ll be there when issue #2 hits the stands, and you should be too.
