Out of Body #1 Review

Writer: Peter Milligan

Artist: Inaki Miranda

Rating: 7 of 8

Out of Body #1

There's nothing quite like a good murder mystery and it's even more tantalizing when the victim is you. What you might have otherwise half-assed, or put off, now you invest a lot more of your time, effort and attention.

Of course, when the only thing you can move is those blinking eyes, what else can you do but think? It's something Dan Collins realizes pretty quickly, as he looks back over the time before he was attacked. It's not a search that bears much fruit, yet it's one he has to make, if only to have that most sacred of all things: an answer.

He runs down a list of suspects, trying to rule out any that just don't fit. A lot of this is hampered by his current situation, though that and more could well change with a little help from a 'friend'. Of course, Dan isn't the only one trying to figure something out, as we see with a medium called Abi.

As she communes with the dead, she does her best to comfort both them and those that lost them. Luckily for her, - and her mother - she gets paid for it. Though there are those seeking genuine aid, there are still those who seek to use her gift for their own dark ends...

In the first issue alone, Milligan succeeds in introducing the world and many of it's different shades, while also adding a considerable amount of depth to its' main character. Other characters, like Abi, or the sinister figures, aren't as fleshed out so far, though given we get to see a lot of what Dan's thinking, it make sense he gets the lion's share of depth.

When it comes to the art, while most of it's pretty standard, some of it's bursting with life. Later on, Miranda delivers some of the most mind boggling imagery I've seen in some time, while he makes the sinister Dorian fittingly ghoulish.Though, at page 10, I think he could've made the characters bit more expressive, given what happens.

Other than that, though, it's a pretty good debut. If the team can maintain this quality, readers are in for a treat.