Eight Billion Genies, a new mini-series (eight issues) from Image, comes gift wrapped with a cool concept: what if you, and every other person on Earth, had ONE wish, and it could come true?
Oh, such a fun idea and writer Charles Soule runs with it. First, though, we meet Robbie, a 12-year-old boy who is in a tavern on his birthday, hoping to rouse his passed-out-papa, asleep at the bar. Meanwhile, a band is getting set up to play on the dive bar’s tiny stage. They’re on the same stage, but are they on the same page?
Then, out of nowhere, magic genies begin to appear, all over the world. One per person. And the genies are granting one wish for everyone! YAY!
But how does everyone deal with the realization that they can change their life? What happens when friends have competing goals? How does one person’s fantasy affect everyone else?
Such an intriguing idea and Soule has picked a perfect cast of wild and crazy people to entertain us with it. Artist Ryan Browne gives us thick lines, gritty streets, and claustrophobic close-ups. His faces and bodies are expressive, exaggerated, and eccentric. His splash page images are ginormous, the colours (assist by Kevin Knipstein, letters by Chris Crank) bombastic, earthy, and everything in-between.
It’s inventive, it’s got a heart and a brain, and it’s lifting our expectations of a wild ride to come!
Image, Eight Billion Genies #1, $3.99 for 27 pages of content
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