Reviews 

“Hollow Heart” #1

By | February 19th, 2021
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

A man who is no longer fully human looks for a way out of this existence, but a new possible friendship begins at the most unlikely time. Warning: This comic depicts attempted suicide and allusions to assisted suicide. – Some Spoilers Ahead.

Variant Cover by David Mack
Written & Lettered by: Paul Allor
Illustrated & Colored by Paul Tucker
Designed by Tim Daniel

The beginning of “Hollow Heart” #1 begins in medias res. Within a secret laboratory, test subject EL 15-C is attempting to escape his current situation. Once a man, this person, now known as El, is confined to a bio-mechanical battle suit. Nothing more than a sack of vital organs, and the hunk of meat that was once his head, El lives out his days in a single room, continuously being tested on and receiving various modifications. After a quick, but exhausting, battle a security guard injures and subdues El.

Following the scuffle, a technician is sent down to repair El; who has sustained the majority of damage to his chest plate. The technician, named Mateo, attempts to earn El’s trust through talking to him, rather than throwing his authority around, or resorting to violence. He also uses some light deception making El believe they are alone and he can confide in Mateo. This interaction begins one of the most intriguing character relationships, and premiere issues of the year.

I say intriguing as opposed to original because this character meeting is something we have seen across many a genre, but the way writer Paul Allor allows it to unfold will have the reader leaning in as though we are privy to a private conversation we should not be hearing. While his predicament is enough to make it obvious how El is feeling, and how we should feel about him, there is a quiet sadness to Mateo as well. Though his minor deception to get El talking could be read as something more nefarious, there is something about him that allows us to believe that it may be nothing more than a white lie so that he can help El to the best of his abilities. Though if his intentions are more noble than we are initially led to believe, this patient/caregiver relationship could become a true friendship in the coming pages.

This sympathetic creature that Allor has created has all the power and disturbing look of a horror movie monster. With just a look, brought to life by Paul Tucker, or a brief line of quiet dialogue; El is a heartbreaking monster that has no desire to continue living. You are meant to feel his pain – emotional and otherwise. Just as we do, Mateo understands El’s true motivations for escape.

Allor balances an incredible story of a broken creature who just wants to die and a man who is dying every day in his own way. The storytelling is all show, don’t tell and Allor’s talent for showing makes everything clear by the end of the issue. As the issue progresses we move away from El and are shown a deeper look into Mateo’s private life. Processing this new found information about El, Mateo drowns the day at the local pub. Discussing what happened with the guard who captured El, we learn that the two men are incredibly lonely in their own way. There is an uncomfortable tension as we learn the two went on a date a year ago, but nothing further came of it. Mateo finds some companionship via a dating app and we are brought into the first few moments of their time together.

There are some interesting parallels between this love scene and the scenes of Mateo repairing and taking care of El. Mateo’s one-night lover, Thomas, is huge in comparison to him. Taller, incredibly muscular, and while taking charge of the situation, treats Mateo with a tenderness that in almost unexpected. It mirrors Mateo’s gentle touch and caring conversation with the hulking El.

Tucker’s illustrations pull these narrative similarities together. In both repair scenes Mateo is working on El’s chest plate while El tells him what he wants, things he hates about his existence. Repairing it, replacing most of it, while El allows his chest to be opened, literally bearing his heart to Mateo. And if the container of remaining bones and guts wired up with the cybernetic body can constitute a soul, that too. This all comes after the love scene that finishes with Thomas also going to work on Mateo’s chest, so to speak. The juxtaposition of the pleasure on Mateo’s face bleeding into the gut-wrenching pain in El’s eyes is a double take that is one more thing that makes this issue the unexpected emotional powerhouse it ends up being.

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The ideas of this comic are so big, and reach so deep, I wish that Tucker’s artwork felt as entwined to it as I hoped it would. His work is solid, helping to plot this out exactly as Allor tells it, but there is a disconnect between his slightly cartoonish style and the disturbing story being told. The maturity of the story and genre dictating what is drawn keeps it fully engaging, but his work almost feels out of place. The stand out of this work are El’s eyes. They say so much even though the character only has about six lines in the entire issue. The work is good, and my desire for more realism is just a personal preference. The pain in my heart after reading this issue for the third time proves that Tucker’s talent is on the page.

Allor and Tucker has done something great here. This is one of the best queer stories told in comics in recent memory. He tells a compelling story that is scary, sad, and wholly interesting without it losing track of its goals and themes. We have just met these characters, and while we have a ways to go to see them fully fleshed out, it is easy to understand and know them even with what little information is presented here.

Vault Comics continues to give voice to creators looking to craft stories that weave in and out of the normal lanes. Their recent run of smaller horror and sci-fi comics has been quite impressive and it’s works like “Hollow Heart” #1 that keep that winning streak going. The combined strengths of Paul Allor and Paul Tucker have made for a compelling and truly heart breaking and powerful story.

This is a comic that knows its audience – those who have needed an ally in the worst of times, and those who can stand up and be that ally.

Final Verdict: 8.5, “Hollow Heart” #1 bears its heart on the page and to the reader and it is bound to be someone’s new favorite comic.


Christopher Egan

Chris lives in New Jersey with his wife, daughter, two cats, and ever-growing comic book and film collection. He is an occasional guest on various podcasts, writes movie reviews on his own time, and enjoys trying new foods. He can be found on Instagram. if you want to see pictures of all that and more!

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