WYRD #1 (of 4) - Dark Horse Comics
Storytellers: Curt Pires (Writer), Antonio Fuso (Artist)
Colors by Stefano Simeone
Letters by Micah Myers
We are all fans of comics. That's why we're here, right? Odds are you wouldn't be reading this if you weren't reading comic books, or at least considering doing so. Sometimes it's easy to forget that the creators themselves are fans, too. I'm sure there are times where you have caught an homage or two in an issue that you've been reading. WYRD might have some of that as well, so let's dive in.
The story follows a man named Pitor Wyrd, a detective who specializes in the unusual. He is pretty unusual himself, as we find out in the first few pages of this issue. He also happens to be not the nicest guy in the world, and that is a huge understatement. Still, the government needs his help with a situation in Crimea. It's at this point where it's going to be hard to tell you too much without spoiling anything. In looking in to several murders, we find out that the one behind it was part of a re-creation gone wrong. We do get a bit of a flashback to the experiment, and I will say this, it will look very familiar. Keep that word in mind: familiar. Once we see the aftermath of what happens when Wyrd tracks down this monster, we get another flashback. It's quick and ordinary, at least on the surface, but looking closely it feels like it will be very significant to our main character.
The reason I say "character" is, I'm not really sure how to classify Wyrd. He doesn't feel like a hero, he doesn't feel like a villain. What he does feel like, is very close to John Constantine. Imagine if John were at his most insufferable and hunting metahumans, you would have Pitor Wyrd. He has no morals and no filter, which makes it hard to get invested in his story. There is a lack of humor there as well which, when you read Hellblazer, would always pull you back to John. That doesn't happen with Wyrd, at all. Still...when I read this issue for the second time, something dawned on me. Maybe all of these things that look and feel familiar are being done intentionally? That answer will determine whether I want to continue reading this comic or not. As far as the art goes, there are some x-ray like panels that are very cool during action sequences. It takes things up a notch and really catches your attention. When we get a close up look in any panel, that is when the art is at it's most strong. I might be on the fence with this one, but all it takes is the answer to one question and that will determine my future interest. I would say this feels like Hellblazer meets Unbreakable right now, but again, I'll have to wait and see if that hunch is correct.
RATING: PICK UP