Dean Koontz’s Nevermore #1 (Dabel Brothers – Koontz / Champagne / Smith / Dalhouse)
Created exclusively for comics by Dean Koontz, Nevermore is a brand new story from the masterful pen of New York Times Bestselling author Dean Koontz and featuring an adaptation by comic book writer Kieth Champagne and gorgeous illustrations by artist Andy Smith, Dean Koontz’s Nevermore is a story that is filled with love, loss, adventure and more!
Just like everyone else, I didn’t get much from the description given out by Dabel Brothers, so I went into his blind. Okay, so semi-blind, I have read Koontz’s work before (superb thriller / horror), so I went in not knowing anything about the story, but with fairly high expectations.
At least as far as this first issue goes, Nevermore, is much more a science fiction adventure and much less a suspense thriller. The story revolves around a team of government scientists / adventurers who have the capability to explore alternate worlds (stepping sideways into different dimensions). Think of it as a high-end version of Sliders. Nevermore didn’t blow me out of the water as the best thing I have ever read, but it did meet my expectations and make me want to get the next issue.
sample art after the end of the review, check below…
The story starts off at about fifty five miles per hour introducing the team and making the reader jump right into the group dynamics and a story in progress. I know the “non-slow-ramp” opening bothers some readers, but with this sort of setting I think it works well. It actually got me much more invested in the story than if Koontz and Champagne had wasted time and taken an issue to get us acquainted with all the characters and the situation.
Bobby Godric, the brains behind the operation, takes the team to a fascist Orwellian world with advanced technologies, and almost immediately the thought police on their trail and the team is on the run. They encounter floating drones, a mechanized police force and find that the population of this world have been subdued into non-individualized sheep. During their narrow escape, they encounter an insectoid Alien type creature that doesn’t seem to be native to the dimension they are exploring. And we find out that gaining scientific knowledge is not the only thing Godric is after in this alternate dimension (there’s nothing like the ulterior motive of a dead wife to spice things up). This is the type of twist that I expect from Koontz.
Andy Smith’s (CrossGen, DC, Marvel) art is very realistic and hard-lined, Smith shows us that he is able to depict both the drama of love lost and the action of the moment with the best of them. The matter-of-fact art style of Smith is a best case scenario this story of hidden personal agendas and science gone atray.
This first issue of Dean Koontz’s Nevermore shows a great potential for the series, I have only have one real fear for the book. The plot is complex enough that the minutia of the details seems like it could get really complicated, really fast. If Nevermore doesn’t get bogged down into too many non-essential details, this series will fly.
Issue #1 comes out this Wednesday!
Issue grade: A
Series Grade: jury is still out
