Title: The Beauty, Volume 1
Contributors: Jeremy Haun, Jason A. Hurley, and John Rauch
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2016
Synopsis: Modern society is obsessed with outward beauty. What if there was a way to guarantee you could become more and more beautiful every day? What if it was a sexually transmitted disease?
In the world of The Beauty, physical perfection is only one sexual encounter away. The vast majority of the population has taken advantage of it, but Detectives Vaughn and Foster will soon discover it comes at a terrible cost. Now, they'll have to find their way past corrupt poiticians, vengeful federal agents, and a terrifying mercenary out to collect the price on their heads.
Collects the first six issues of the critically acclaimed, Pilot Season winning series by writer/artist JEREMY HAUN (Constantine, Batwoman) and co-writer JASON A. HURLEY.
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Review: I love the idea behind this series - everybody wants to be beautiful, so now there's a way to guarantee your beauty. You just have to contract an STD, and you're good to go! Things can't be that easy though, and maybe being beautiful just isn't worth the cost. People are dying to be beautiful, and now the dying part has become literal.
I enjoyed the beginning of this volume much more than I did the end. The set up and introduction to a world where beauty is easy to come by is really interesting and something I could see actually happening in the future. Throw in some corrupt politicians, some federal agents with a grudge, and a mercenary and you've got all the makings of a great sci-fi story! There are also parts that are hilarious, and I was definitely laughing out loud more than I expected to. By the end though, things are less unique and left me kind of bored, so much so that I'm not really sure I care to continue reading when the next volume comes out.
The art was probably my favorite part of this graphic novel. It's very easy to tell who the beautiful people are and who the normal people are, even without over-exaggerating too much. But even though this is a comic about a disease called The Beauty, the artwork is very dark and gritty. There are definitely some bright colors and pretty frames, but a lot of it is harsh and dark. I mean, The Beauty does kill the people it infects, so it seems very fitting that the artwork isn't all soft edges and pretty colors.
I wish the last third of this volume had kept up the momentum of the first part because I think I would have enjoyed it much more. I was pretty invested in the story and in Vaughn and Foster, but then I just lost interest as the story become dull and bland. I finished reading because I was still kind of curious as to what was going to happen, but it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat like I had hoped. Overall, I think this is still a decent sci-fi graphic novel, and maybe it will make a comeback in future volumes, but I'm not sure that I'll continue to read. 3/5.
--Ashley
--Ashley
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