Jonathan Hickman has another new title at Image Comics. With an intriguing cover and the vague title, all you need to know about this comic is you should be reading it.
The Good
How many times have you wanted to be able to read a comic book without having to worry about years or decades of continuity? Actually we see new comics pretty frequently but they sometimes can be a gamble. With a title from Hickman, you have a pretty good idea of the quality you'll get.
SECRET deals with...secrets. The world is full of them. Focusing on the world of private security and espionage, there is plenty of action, violence, twists and confusion contained in this issue. It begins right away with a business man getting tortured for information. Information is worth everything.
Many are familiar with Hickman's work in the superhero genre. He does an absolute top notch there and when he moves into another genre, you'll find he kicks ass there as well. It's one thing for a writer to take existing characters and make then soar above what others have done previously but creating your own characters and world adds a completely different level to the work. I sometimes feel like Hickman writes on a magic typewriter as he's just full of intriguing ideas.
As a first issue, the story needs to be set up. Because the title is called SECRET, you know there's going to be twists. That's the challenge Hickman faces. He takes the challenge and runs with it.
Ryan Bodenheim's art and Michael Garland's colors fits the story perfectly. The colors are slightly mutated and used sparingly which really serves to add focus to the art and the scene. It definitely adds something to the title that gives it an even further distinct feel.
The Bad
Rather than simply lay everything out, there will some moments of confusion. Not so much confusion necessarily but a sense of not knowing everything that's going on. This does play into the overall theme of the title but a couple times different names are thrown around and you might have to flip back to be sure who is being talked about.
Also because it's the first issue and the sense of secrecy is a focus, you don't really see where the series is going until towards the end. Not necessarily a bad thing but you're left wondering where it's all going to go.
The Verdict
Jonathan Hickman does it again. How many new series can he write? As you would expect, he creates a new world and characters and pulls you in. Because information is such a hot commodity, people will do pretty much anything to get it. Hickman explores the world of private security. There is plenty of mystery and he presents the new world in an interesting fashion. Bodenheim's art and Garland's colors were the right choice for this story. You might not know where the story is going but that's part of the fun. Hickman and Image are on a role and he knows how to constantly give us something different.