Here’s a brand spankin’ new comic book Kickstarter for everyone to throw their money at! From Unlikely Heroes Studios comes… The Surgeon! A fun and gritty post apocalyptic action book, The Surgeon is aiming to be your new favorite. Now, scrub up and make your incision to read more after the jump!
First things first, Unlikely Heroes Studios is running a Kickstarter right NOW that you should check out HERE. Pledge early, pledge often.
So what’s the book all about? I had a chance to read the first issue and was suitably impressed by the work John Pence, Zachary Dolan, and Laurie Foster (story, pencils, and inks respectively) have done on The Surgeon. As I mentioned at the top of this article the book is set in a post apocalyptic wasteland of sorts and follows the titular surgeon Jenny Hanover as she makes her way westward (more or less).
Equal parts Doctor House and Imperator Furiosa, Hanover is escaping whatever happened back east. The exact nature of what happened is kept vague, which is good since it seems like it could be fertile ground for the story down the line.
Now, I appreciate a book that offers good world building and this book certainly has it. The world as it’s presented in the book has been in its current state for about fifteen years. The wealthy have retreated to secure underground bunkers leaving the rest of society to just… deal with it. This feels incredibly allegorical to what’s going on in the world at large currently but it’s not so on-the-nose that it screams “MESSAGE!” in giant flashing lights.
The entire presentation of The Surgeon is very, very slick. It strays from conventional post apocalyptic tropes by showing a vibrant, and colorful (props to Eve Orozco on colors) society that’s making do as best they can in the new world. But don’t worry, Zachary Dolan’s pencils present a universe that’s still very lived in with all sorts of wonderful details on each page.
The dialog in the book also deserves some attention. The way John Pence writes for each character is excellent, giving the reader a real sense of that character’s personality. The characters are likable and I found myself getting invested in them and their struggle to survive. Not too bad for a first issue.
The Kickstarter campaign for The Surgeon runs until November, 17th and there are some pretty awesome premiums to be had for those looking to pledge. Who wouldn’t want an actual canvas replica map of based off the one Hanover carries?
