Stingers #1 (Zenescope – Brusha / Tedesco / Reis)
Jaded bounty hunter Brian ‘the Hawk’ Hawkins has plans to retire somewhere far away from the one thing he can’t stand any more… people. But what the Hawk didn’t plan for was the invasion of a near extinct alien life form attempting to colonize earth. Large wasp-like creatures have been sent to a small New Jersey town to inject humans with alien dna which will transform mankind into an alien hybrid race. Hawkins must now make a decision to run and hide or to help save humanity.
Stingers represents some of Zenescope’s new efforts to have books that move into other content besides the whole fantasy fractured fairy tale genre. This series is your classic science-fiction action adventure story, and in accordance with the expectations I have of Zenescope, they knocked this one out of the park!
Brian Hawkins is your bounty hunter extraordinaire, he has all the skills and moves to get the job done and he has saved up enough money to get out of the system and retire comfortably. The only thing that keeps him in the game is the knowledge that he is keeping the bad guys off the streets (I hate to make a movie comparison but think Dwayne Johnson in The Rundown). Well, this issue sees the “Hawk” is taking one last job. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for civilization at large, this one last job happens right in the middle of an invasion of Earth from an insectoid race (giant intelligent robo-mosquitoes!).
Maybe it’s the sci-fi fan in me, maybe it’s me being a guy, I don’t know… But I know a badass good guy fighting giant bugs is a killer premise!
Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco, the writing team behind Stingers, brilliantly sets the stage and lets the reader fall right into sync with Hawkins as he starts the greatest adventure of his life. They give just enough details for us to be compelled and invested, but not so much that we are burdened. If these guys aren’t writing screen plays already, they should be! Wagner Reis does an outstanding job of illustrating action sequence after action sequence, whether it was a fist fight, a chase scene or even just a mano-y-mano confrontation, Reis has it covered!
In a phrase, Stingers rocks! and you will be one sad fanboy if you do not get it!
Grade: A
