The artwork by Hayden Sherman in Image Comics' new series, The Few, is gray, brown and green, almost semi-chromatic, and absent of life and joy. Its post apocalyptic setting gives it a doom-and-gloom tone, reminiscent of movies such as The Road, Mad Max, and even Turbo Kid (the villains ride motorcycles and wear goggles, all the while having their faces covered). There isn't much elation to be found in these so-called "remainder States of America".
The writing by Sean Lewis may not be mind-blowing (lines such as "... that baby needs even a piece of shit to look out for him" come across as rather sophomoric), but what he does create is a strong sense of time and place, a world stripped of humanity where danger lurks at every corner. The heroine, Edan Hale, is a twenty-year old black haired, brown eyed tough-as-nails girl, who cares for a stranger's baby as if he were her own, despite the faceless assassins on motorcycles who chase after her through the ominous woods as if she was a helpless prey. A father and son duo come to her aid, and despite a blood-thirsty villain named Herrod wanting to "reign in blood" all the residents of a small trailer community, Edan is forced to flee with her saviors and the baby to the outskirts of the forest they find themselves in, which is marked by a lone wind turbine, sticking out of the sea of trees like a compass out of hell.
The Few #1 is an effective intro to this rather engaging comic book series, its storyline taking off immediately with kinetic energy and imagination, without ever looking back. There's more to Edan than meets the eye, and it remains to be seen just who and what she really is.
B+
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