Review - The Omens #1

Scientific advancements are solving all sorts of age old problems. It's likely there's now a cure for AIDS and it's only a matter of time before cancer is cured too. That leaves other medical ailments that need attention, medical ailments such as human cloning.

Electormagnetic Press has such a comic called The Omens #1 that tackles that issue, with a whole slew of other zaniness thrown in for good measure. It's written by Larry Morgan and illustrated by Shane Moore.

Maggie Goodwin is a young woman who's been having headaches lately. It'd be too simple to say they were tied to stress or something like that. No, they're tied to Maggie being a posthuman, a genetically engineered new breed with abilities that exceed those of human beings.

Her unique capabilities manifest themselves in telepathy. It would be great for her if that could make things easier for her, but it doesn't. In fact, by the end of the first issue she's on the run from the US government, extraterrestrial entities and Dr. O.

Morgan's take is interesting. He pitches Maggie as a test tube baby, accompanied by the expected vitriol and ignorance that many still hold in today's society against that type of science. There's also a character in the issue named Chris Cork, who has a disagreement with Mr. Dawson about evolution.

It's curious that their argument plays such a large part of the issue. It'll be interesting to see if Morgan stays with the focus on religion as part of the storyline (the comic is called The Omens after all). You have to wonder if that argument coupled with the character perspectives on Maggie's birth are part of an agenda.

Moore's art is all black and white and adds a certain baseness to the story. There are some panels where the perspectives are a little off, but overall the art fits. The story gets a little crazy towards the end and Moore gets to play with some different character models.

Morgan uses a fairly stable story dynamic with Maggie, but he throws in some interesting social takes that don't usually accompany such a story. There is some heady stuff in here beyond just Maggie's telepathy. The reason for the arrival of the aliens at the end remain to be seen, as well as why Maggie is so important to just about everyone.

The Omens #1 is available now from Electormagnetic Press.

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