Adam Freeman & Marc Bernardin, Writers
Bruno Redondo, Penciller
Sergio Ariño, Inker
Aaron Minier, Flashback Sequence
Published by: Wildstorm
I have to admit, I never grow tired of storylines featuring mutants, delinquents, or underdogs taken in by a secret government agency and trained to be assassins. Something about it appeals to me on a very primal level. Of course, I’m fairly certain that had I taken the right aptitude test in grade school, I would be a top government agent by now rather than an insubordinate misfit pondering ways to make money on the internet with a webcam.
The Book
I guess you would call the characters of Push, #1 mutants: pushers, changers, sniffers, movers, phasers, watchers (not like Buffy watchers, sorry), and bleeders. Each plays a critical part within the Division, the government agency that recruited them at very young ages, taught them how to foster their unique abilities, and trained them to be assassins.
Pushers control people’s actions by “pushing” thoughts into their mind. Changers morph their physical image. Sniffers obtain binary information from objects just by, yup, sniffing them. Movers do the heavy lifting via telepathy. Phasers move through walls. Watchers see things that others can’t, such as the near future and what is inside of a nuclear weapons compound on the other side of the earth. And bleeders cause people’s spinal fluid to ooze from their eyes, ears, nose and mouth by screaming. Ok, I know that last one sounds really useless, but the bleeder is the last line of defense for the Division. Most of the charachters are male and the two female characters introduced in this volume are portrayed as either impulsive or insecure.
Push, #1 begins as a flashback to 1986 when Ezra, the top agent in the Division and its only changer, has two missions in two days that go horribly wrong. The volume ends in a dramatic cliffhanger fashion with Ezra asking himself the question, “who can you trust?”. Hey, I have a question: who introduces a story with a freaking cliff hanger? Only an evil genius.
The first issue sets the bait to keep anxious readers tuned in for further episodes in this 6-issue miniseries all while building hype for the movie slated to come out next year. In fact, when I saw issue 2 on the shelf at my favorite comic book store last week (issue 3 is due on December 24th), I was twitching to pick it up. Then I remembered the 10 full-page ads scattered nearly every 3 pages throughout the 32-page issue 1. The constant commercial interruption coupled with the cliffhanger ending was more than my OCD/ADD could handle and I decided I would hope to catch this in trade paperback format.
9.5/10
The Artwork
Push, #1 is beautifully colored by Gabe Eltaeb. The artist makes great use of light and shadow to set a mood. The characters are all easily differentiated, which is helpful for a gal like me with deficiencies in the face recognition department. The backgrounds are detailed and complex. The style reminds me a cross between Buffy and The Goon. All of it, very appealing. Find a hefty preview at www.windstorm.com.
10/10
Overall (Not an Average) 9.5/10
The Review
The Story 9.5/10
The Artwork 10/10
Overall (Not an Average) 9.5/10