Hey readers happy, happy weekend! I hope everyone had an awesome week, and are getting ready for all the Halloween festivities coming up next weekend!!! Now welcome to another installment of WHY YOU SHOULD BE READING… with Grainbelt Jones. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the comic madness.
One thing that’s great about browsing comic shops is being able to thumb thru the inventory on the shelves in store. Let’s face it, I don’t care how talented and in the know you are about what is out, or coming out, it is impossible to keep up with every single title. I imagine writers and the people working within the industry have a vaster knowledge of insider info and connections, but even then you are only one person and can miss plenty of good books hitting the shelves regularly. For this weeks choice a variant cover caught my eye and compelled me to flip through the first few pages. Enjoying the artwork I realized this was issue 3, and ended up flipped through the back stock unearthing issues 1 and 2. Naturally I opened issue one and began reading respectively. I was so impressed with the first opening pages of issue one, and how it was able to completely spark a major interest in me, I bought all 3 issues at once. The opening dialog sucked me in like I would an Ice cold Belgian White after a long, drawn out day. At first I couldn’t even fathom the subject matter, and honestly the best part was allowing the opening pages of this comic be its own synopsis. With an intro that will grab you, backed up with solidly written issues, it was easy to breeze through the first 3 in one sitting, and I find myself thoroughly excited and waiting for more!
“Two years ago, a new sexually transmitted disease took the world by storm.”
This S.T.D was unlike any other that had come before. This was a disease that people actually wanted.”
“Victims” of this epidemic were physically changed by the virus. Fat melted away, thinning hair returned, skin blemishes faded, and their facial features slimmed.”
“It became known as The Beauty…..”
Great opening dialog right? I just had to insert “some” of the goodies we get within the first few pages, trust me I didn’t spoil the best part, but I wanted to give you an idea on how uncontrollably intriguing that intro is. also to note, this comic delivered the best opening few pages Ive read in a series in a long time, usually it takes me a bit to get into things, but this clutched around my attention like a vice grip, and I just couldn’t let it go.
Even with such an impactful intro Jermey Haun and the writing team do their thing backing everything up with issues that are solid with excellent pacing, each issue left us with a cliff hanger and I was happy I got into this with a few issues on hand to start me off. lets just say now that I’m caught up, this is going to be a long month, and I’m already counting down the days till issue 4’s release. Creative is the best way to describe the subject matter, and I also feel they did a good job playing on real life as most effective creators are able to do, so with that being said it’s time to dive a bit deeper, and i’ll lead the way.
S.T.D’s, scary stuff right? As adults in order to keep in good health this is a topic we must have knowledge about, and take the certain steps needed to stay safe, but what happens if there is an S.T.D that makes life better from a physical stand point. The Beauty tackles this question by holding up a mirror directly in the face of our society, forcing us to see just how addicted we all are to physical appearance. It is a real funny thing how sentimental memes and positive encouragement can spread like wild fire through social media, but actual practice of this positive reinforcement is hard to be seen, it’s like we all know what the right thing is, but have a hard time staying true to those choices due to the pressures of society around us. Face it people, the mass majority of people would make the conscious decision to accept a disease if it was promised that it would make them visually perfect to those around them, regardless of the long lasting effects, and unforeseen repercussions caused by the disease. This is due to our obsession with perfection and instant gratification. This topic and more is explored as we follow detectives Vaughn and Foster as they uncover the mysteries of The Beauty, and how the disease could quite possibly be taking the lives of the general public. When over 200 Million of the population is affected with the disease, it is quite easy to see how this is becoming a threat to national security. As if the deck isn’t stacked enough, within the public there are terrorist groups filled with people who are hell bent on punishing those who make the decision to “convenience” their lives by becoming physically perfect, and as another human’s disease known as envy affects the rest of the population, they reek their own havoc, not willing to accept the idea that beauty is a choice.
All in all the creativity of this project is something to behold, and the fact they were able to play off the emotions of everyday society, and sprinkle in everyones intrigue with disease and sex if a fascinating accomplishment. It is not hard to see how much potential this project has, and for the art fans, to simply put it, you will not be disappointed. As a person who first noticed the cover art without any prior knowledge of the book, it should make it easy enough to tell this book does not fall short on the visuals. Get ready for this one people, and make sure you are along for the ride, I sure will be, waiting to see if they find a cure……
– Grainbelt Jones
