Suiciders #1

by Lee Bermejo & Matt Hollingsworth

Since DC relaunched with the New 52 and took many characters from Vertigo into the main DCU, Vertigo hasn’t quite found the focus it used to have. While it seems like Image is taking over the creator-owned comics market, Vertigo has been trying to get back to being a great place for original stories. They have had some great series recently, but Suiciders’ first issue was an amazing debut that should capture readers attention.

Suiciders takes places in the city of New Angeles in a not so distant future. New Angeles is surrounded by a huge wall to keep people they deem deplorable to the citizens of New Angeles. The sport of choice in New Angeles is techno-advanced gladiators battling in a booby-trap filled arena in front of a coliseum of people. These gladiators are known as Suiciders. Lee Bermejo has been primarily known for his amazingly realistic art, but with Suiciders he proves he is just as talented at telling a story. This first issue of Suiciders reads gracefully and is able to show many aspects of these characters who inhabit New Angeles without bogging readers down with information.

Creators like Bermejo who can both handle writing and art duties on their own monthly series are a rare breed these days. However, they usually tell the best stories because they can find that perfect balance of using both the art and the script to make Suiciders read so flawlessly. Speaking of the art, anyone who is familiar with Bermejo’s work know how lifelike his sequential art looks. Aside from maybe Alex Ross, there aren’t many comic artists working right now who are as talented as Bermejo. Suiciders continues his gorgeous streak of art in Suiciders, chiefly the gladiator duel in this issue was mind-blowing. Suiciders would look amazing as just a black and white comic, but the addition of Matt Hollingsworth’s color palette makes this a home run. Hollingsworth uses gentle colors to help enhance the realistic tone of Suiciders while still being able to have energetic moments of intensity.

What a wonderful first issue. Having no idea what to expect when getting into this first issue of Suiciders was an incredibly rewarding surprise. If anyone was apprehensive about whether Lee Bermejo could both write and ink his own series need not worry. Suiciders came out strong with this first issue and made one hell of an impact. Suiciders‘ debut is an excellent start to a series that is definitely worth checking out for anyone who just likes reading awesome comics.