Syphon #1, from Image, delves into what it’s like to be able to pull pain out of others.
Katharine has the ability to help people, magically, by taking their pain away. But that has aroused the ire of a powerful killer. So, in her dying moments, she transfers this ability to an Emergency responder (EMT). So now, the powerful killer who pursued Katharine is now pursuing Sylas.
It’s an interesting concept, but the writing (coauthors Patrick Meaney and Mohsen Ashraf) is confusing. We’re led astray by the ‘Who’s Who’, and the flow of the narrative has us following chains of events that aren’t clear. Who is the patient, what happened to the other guy in the alley, and who is the protagonist?
The visuals are super strong and fascinating, (Jeff Edwards art, John Kalisaz colour. Letterer is uncredited) but the team needs to iron down the narrative, clarify who is who, and let us back into the drama. Great potential, looking forward to seeing issue 2!
Awesome Jeff Edwards standard cover, and plenty of variants are available.
Image, Syphon #1, $3.99 for 23 pages of content. Teen+
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Brian Isaacs - Executive Editor / Publisher