Two First Issues

Because reading 25 comics a month isn't enough, I tried two new ones. I've got a third one sitting here, waiting its turn.

Surgeon X 1
This new Image title has an eye-grabbing cover, and it had a fair amount of buzz, but I found it rather heavy-handed, a bit dull, and I didn't much like the characters. Or, more specifically, despite the long flashback bookended by the present day, I felt like I didn't learn much about the main character, at all. Everyone feels like an archetype, not a real, albeit fictional, person. The premise is a near future, set in London, where everyone is dealing with the antibiotic crisis. To deal with the problem of drug-resistant bacteria, the British government has legislated restrictions on who gets antibiotics and the titular surgeon, Rosa Scott has her own ideas about that. Throw in some intrigue about her mother's death that comes on the last page, and this looks to be a medical thriller, but I'm just not feeling the thrills. Or suspense. I thought the art was so-so. I'm going to pass on continuing with this book.

Frostbite 1
This Vertigo title, on the other hand, grabbed me, first with its gorgeous cover and interior art. Despite static posing, or because of it, the art seems very suitable to a near future when the world is dealing with a new ice age. The elements of this story are fed out a bit more slowly, with better pacing than Surgeon X to build suspense. I could feel the cold, though maybe that was just the cold of my apartment. But I like the main character Keaton. She's just trying to survive, with her emotions and actions swinging from compassion for some kids to more pragmatic actions regarding an older couple suffering from deadly frostbite. And when her companions take on a job to transport a father and daughter to Alcatraz, she reluctantly agrees, despite her misgivings. Her instincts prove right when they're all attacked, and the chase is on. I want to see where this goes.