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Lucid #1 – Review

Coming from Archaia Press' Black Label is the first issue of Lucid, which was available early at Comic Con. You may remember that Lucid was being co-produced with Zachary Quinto's company "before the door" which gives the title the possibility of being adapted into other mediums. Well before we can go into that we need to find out how the first issue is, so let's find out!

The issue begins with Matthew Dee sitting in class fifteen years prior to the main story. He's ignoring daydreaming in the middle of class and sub sequentially called upon by the teacher. After an answer way outside of his classmates maturity level, he's sent to the hall to write a report with the same amount of passion.

In the modern day, Matthew, now Agent Dee is attempting to escape a radical cult that believes that aliens will take them to a better life. He's in charge of removing a kidnapped professor that was being used to create a bridge between dimensions. The instantly cool thing about the world is that Agent Dee can use magic; the problem is that the cult has a device that can block most magic leaving him flying blind. His partner for the mission is a gorgeous blonde named Agent Gygax. She too knows magic and is being completely shut down by the device forcing her to use hand to hand combat instead.

Lucid #1The leader of the cult manages to beat Agent Gygax and puts her out of commission for the rest of the mission. The leader then opens the doorway to the other dimension for a battleship awaiting them. What the crazy cult didn't know was that the aliens that want over aren't friendly. In fact they're a big bunch of liars that will do whatever it takes to invade the planet. Agent Dee arrives in the nick of time and overloads the machine closing the doorway and preventing the arrival of the ship.

The world of Lucid is very simple. Magic exists, aliens exist and one is used to stop the other. What's also a huge part of Lucid is the technology that accompanies the magic. Science can help control/defeat magic which is always an interesting battle in the world of comics.

The creator and writer of the miniseries is Michael McMillian and he does a wonderful job of creating an interesting and unique world. Readers familiar with the Authority should find some familiar elements between the stories, but what McMillian has done is switch it from superheroes to science and magic. McMillian puts forth a solid effort in creating a world and back story for the world to develop upon. Agent Dee is presented as two distinctly different characters from the different stages of the story which leaves the reader wondering what changed between those moments.

The art is some of the best art to come from Archaia which is saying a lot since they always have amazing art. Anna Wieszczyk has a completely unique style that the world of comics has never seen. Yes there are similar things out there, but her style is at a level that is untouchable by those artists. Instantly upon seeing it, I thought of Aeon Flux and Phantom 2040. The characters are very detailed almost making them ugly, but so beautiful at the same time. Wieszczyk has a unique perspective for her storytelling that works very well with the world McMillian has created.

This book may end up being a hit or miss with people. Some might be put off by the story and the amount of information presented in the first issue; while others will be sucked into the story by the art. Personally I found the story to be very interesting and the art to be truly fantastic. With Archaia's titles being so diverse it's easy to find something that's not just a superhero title. If you're a Sci-Fi fan that's looking to get into comics then this is the book to start with, you will not find a stronger title out there.

Overall Score – 9.5/10

Lucid is scheduled to ship on August 24th, so there's plenty of time to request it from your local comic shop. If you'd like to check out more of Anna's amazing art visit her deviantArt page here.


Rating
9.5

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