I have been raving about this first issue from Boom It really captured my attention with the storyline. We enter a town when near death experiences or NDEs are looked down upon. All the people with NDEs are being judged for actions they cannot control. See after the event occurs, these people become vicious murderers. They don’t remember a thing or some do but can’t control their actions. The only thing that remains is the town making sure that no NDE gets too close. We meet up with a teenage girl who is about to go to the dance in our first issue. Her boyfriend isn’t the safest ride as he has been drinking. Beth gets the car with him on their way out and he gets into an accident. Beth calls her bf the lucky one, because he dies. She had a NDE and is judged outside the hospital, at school, and with neighbors. She now must find answers, but first find people she can trusts or that will trust her. Her family isn’t an option because coming home one day they have been murderer. Now Beth must run in order to save herself from persecution.

I really just love this idea of people completing snapping and becoming something different. Clearly they still have their memories and physical appearances, but they now have a new life. It is tough picturing a world where we can’t trust someone completely. Obviously we say we have trust in them, but if they experienced an NDE, I doubt most of us could feel that emotion again. The comic really puts you in the forefront of the debate, because just like our characters, we don’t know who to trust. It gets the audience involved without force. Either way we will judge who is good and bad.

So pretty much the big question last issue, was who the hell was that dude? Beth totally saw him when she got in her accident, so what does he have to do with the it all? He has to be some sort of help, but even Beth doesn’t trust him. She is quick to judge, and that is exactly why she is running. That is a double-edged sword.

Beth is a perfect fit into this world. She is still naive enough to not understand that people are out to get her, but also smart enough to ask the right questions for much-needed answers. We don’t have a lot of side characters quite yet. I like it that way and the comic is straight forward about all the people entering her life. This way you aren’t wondering why they have left. All we have that seems constant is the mysterious man who picked her up. The comic ends with some pretty gnarly stuff that leaves a cliffhanger surrounding some major life and death situations. I look forward to seeing who is on each side and what this dude has to offer Beth that she couldn’t find on her own.

Score: 5/5

Writer: Jason Starr Artist: Andrea Mutti Publisher: Boom Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 4/9/14 Format: Mini-Series – Print/Digital