Neverland #0 (Zenescope– Brusha / DeShong / Embury / Campbell)
Pan never wanted to grow up and now he’s found key to immortality and a way to rule the realm of Neverland forever. But he requires a steady supply of children in order to have eternal life. Once a magical paradise, Pan has reshaped Neverland into the ultimate nightmare for any child unlucky enough to visit and only one has ever been able to escape. Now an adult, Nathan Cross, the one they call “Hook” may be the only person who can put a stop to Pan’s madness.
This zero issue served it ‘s purpose. Joe Brusha, lead writer, revealed just enough of the plot,characters and direction of Zenescope’s newest twisted take on classic literary mythology to make the readers interested and intrigued. Come on, if a shadowy monstrous Peter Pan hunting down a young boy in the streets and rooftops of New York isn’t enough to “hook” you I don’t know what is.
We get a glimpses of the dark kingdom of Neverland, it’s tyrannicalruler Pan, his devout servant Tink, a homeless and delusional Captain Hook, and the modernization of John, Michael and Wendy Darling. Many of the iconic pieces of the classic tale are present and accounted for in this introductory issue. Brusha is able to givea small taste of things to come and it’s clearly enough to make the readers come back for more. But the story is not the only thing to crow about here. This is the second Zenescope book I have read this week where the art team is able to show that they are clearly able to narrate story well and have construct some really gorgeous frames and pages without having the Zene-traditional half-clothed eye candy. While I have been a long time fan of Zenescope’s Wonderland series, it looks like Neverland might usurp the Carroll tribute from the top of my list.
Some nice adds to this issue are the character sketchs in the back and pages from Cross’s psychiatric counseling sessions.
Issue Grade: A
