Translucid #1

By Claudio Sanchez, Chondra Echert & Daniel Bayliss

BOOM! Studios has been doing an excellent job of delivering some interesting new creator owned series that end up being quite entertaining for readers. Having gone into the first issue of Translucid with an open mind and no preconceived notions, and after reading the entire issue, I can’t for sure tell you exactly what is going on but I can defiantly tell you that it was awesome.

So far what we have is a villain named The Horse getting out of jail and finding the villains that have taken control since his incarceration to work together to setup his rival, the hero known as The Navigator. This is pretty much the basic outline of this first issue but it’s in the way that this story unfolds in this first issue that makes it such an intriguing read. There are some other interesting points in the story, including the random scenes involving a kid that may or may not be flashbacks. Overall this is the first of a six issue arch and it already has its hooks into me as a reader.

Translucid has some incredible looking art that really felt like the strongest asset to this series. Being a story involving super heroes and villains there is still a bit of dark grittiness reflected in the city but it’s these amazing colors that really make Translucid feel like something special. A little spoiler alert, but there is a part toward the end that the hero The Navigator is drugged with something which makes him hallucinate. Now, the entire issue does have a certain brightness to it due to the color palette used on it but when the hallucinations kick in that really cranks Translucid‘s all the way up to 11. This first issue of Translucid has some very striking art that is bound to draw in plenty of fans.

Translucid has started off extremely well both with its eye-catching art and attractive story. In that aspect it’s actually kind of reminiscent of the recent BOOM! Studios’ successful series Six Gun Gorilla. It’s been really fun having these series like Translucid come from seemingly out of nowhere and surprise you with how different and interesting it is. If Translucid isn’t on your pull-list or even on your radar you may want to do yourself a favor and pick up this debut issue, because it’s going to be one of those series that everyone will be talking about.