New York Time’s best-selling writer Fred Van Lente delivers a mysterious, heart pounding comic series. Generation Zero as the series is called is also the name of a group of modified human beings grown in a secret lab. These individuals are supposed to be a myth, but as it turns out they are very much so real. Generation Zero if they find you worthy, and desperate enough, they will come to your aid and help you with whatever problem you have. As for the comic series main character, Keisha, she wants to know the mystery behind her boyfriend's sudden death. Picture a very high-tech, best of the best equipment, with essentially no anguish and that is the setting for this comic. Rook, Michigan used to be a worn down city with severe poverty, and now they are one of the most advanced cities in the entire world. Nobody is poor, everyone has jobs, people can afford to buy pretty much everything they need. Even with this fair distribution of wealth and the best technology, there is still a gap between citizens but in the form of popularity.
Keisha is an outcast amongst her school, along with a few other students and her boyfriend, Stephen. Stephen was a very intuitive guy, always questioning the status quo. This is likely what got him “killed” in the first place. When Keisha finds out about her boyfriend's passing, she turns to the only thing she thinks can help her, Generation Zero. Generation Zero is a very secretive group; they almost seem like a spy agency like in Mission Impossible. Keisha is contacted by Generation Zero who tells her that they will be in touch with her soon and for her to act normal.
At school, everyone is way more attentive to Keisha then normal. They invite her to a huge party, which is in memory of Stephen. Before heading to this party, Keisha receives a letter from Stephen which he mailed to her before he died. He told her he was onto something big and that she couldn’t trust anyone, not even her father. At the party, Keisha runs into a group of new kids she hadn’t met before. They said they were new to town, and they were starting school the next day. One of the new students Keisha finds to be a perfect male specimen with stunning looks. After being creeped out by one of the students, Keisha wanders off towards a lake where she is attacked by some faceless alien like creatures. Guess who comes to her rescue... Generation Zero.
Wow, I cannot wait for the next issues of this series. I don’t think I have ever actually read a story like this. Van Lente has done a great job creating a unique story line that actually leaves you wanting more pages at the end of this issue. This is definitely the kind of story I would binge read all day. You are really cheating yourself if you don’t read this comic. I loved the pacing, the backstory for characters was solid, and the change from internal dialogue to external was excellent. It is honestly a challenge finding anything I didn’t like about this issue. We have a solid main character and then we are introduced to a rather mysterious group that calls themselves Generation Zero, and the whole time you are just dying on the inside to know what this group is going to do to help out the main character. I hate the fact that I have to wait a few weeks to read the next issue.
On top of a fantastic, creative story, the art was done by Francis Portela, stands on its own as being incredible. A wide range of bright colors used to show detailed environments and also capture the raw emotion in the character’s faces. Same as the writing, there is nothing major wrong anywhere in this issue. If this duo of Francis and Fred keep up the level of work they put into this issue, there is no reason this can’t be one of the top standout comics of August. I look forward to reading more issues of Generation Zero, and I highly suggest everyone else gets on board with this series.
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Generation Zero #1 Writer: Fred Van Lente Artist: Francis Portela Publisher: Valiant Comics Price: $3.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital
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