LUCID #1 (of 4)
Retail Price: $3.95
Page Count: 24 pages
Format: saddle bound, 6.625” x 10.25”, full color
On-Sale Date: September 9, 2010
Writer: Michael McMillian
Artist: Anna Wieszczyk
Cover: Anna WieszczykWelcome to the world of LUCID, the highly anticipated, action-packed, pop-fantasy, four-issue miniseries that draws inspiration from the spy genre, Arthurian legend and 21st-century folklore! Dark forces are conspiring to prevent humankind from reaching its true potential. Thankfully, as newly appointed “Protector of the Realm,” Agent Matthew Dee uses his skills as a covert spy and Combat Mage to ensure America’s freedom from the grip of evil. In the debut issue: Who is Waylan Gheely, and what forbidden power has he stolen? What ancient evil, banished two millennia ago by Merlin himself, threatens to consume our dimension? What presence lurks in the shadows behind it all? And just who is The Secretary of Secrets? Written by “True Blood” actor Michael McMillian and illustrated by newcomer Anna Wieszczyk, LUCID is Archaia’s first title published in association with Zachary Quinto (“Heroes,” “Star Trek”) and his company, Before the Door.
T +13 (Contains material suitable for teen readers age 13 and above)
This week Archaia has a new title hitting store shelves. Lucid, written by Michael McMillian and drawn by Anna Wieszczyk, has influences from the east and west; with Wieszczyk inspired by Eastern style comics, and McMillian dipping his pen in inks from the East as well as Arthurian Legend. But how do these seemingly conflicting genres blend?
The book definitely has its ups and downs. When we first meet our hero Agent Matthew Dee, it’s in a flashback. He’s in high school giving lip to his English Lit teacher. Without giving anything away, I’m certain McMillian used this introduction to give us an insight into Dee’s character. He’s sarcastic and irreverent, but he’s also a harsh realist, despite his setting.
After that, we’re rushed right into a fight between his team of spell casting spies and a cult who worship the Daoine Sidhe (Shee), a race of other dimensional beings who are believed by the people that worship them to be the creators of the human race. But in actuality, they want to drop kick our collective ass, so to speak. The fight is pretty brutal, but it ends in the unexpected death of one of our principal characters. But don’t worry, this serves a purpose.
McMillian, who I’m fairly sure is a first time writer, certainly has a grasp on the story he wants to tell. He has a clear idea of what Agent Dee is like, along with Danya Gygax, the agent from what looks like “across the pond,” in Europe. Every character has a distinct personality and has three-dimensional personas. Well, except for the villain, but he got relatively little screen time so I would expect he would get more fleshed out in the coming issues.
My only beef with the story is more of a nitpick. It took about half the issue for me to get pulled into the story, but on the other hand, it was rewarding to read through it two or three times to get a full appreciation for what was going on. This doesn’t end up being a bad thing, but it can be a turn off for some readers on the fence. Give it a second read through and see how it grabs you.
Finally, the art from Anna Wieszczyk has some clear influences from the East, as I’ve said. I saw some Cowboy Bebop and Fist of the North Star peeking out from behind her pencils, although it could be a tiny bit of a coincidence. It’s not a style I’m used to, but it does work for the story being told. It took a bit of getting used to, and if there’s anything that I think she might need to work on, it’s adding depth to certain scenes. Some pages looked great, while others quite literally fell flat.
The book is a worthy of a look through, as it’s a lot of fun and there is some interesting art throughout. Check it out if you’re feeling like giving something different from the usual superhero genre a shot.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – Buy
