- November 2, 2022
Behold, Behemoth #1 Review
Written by: Tate Brombal
Illustrated by: Nick Robles
Lettering by: Andworld Design
Editing by: Ramiro Portnoy, Eric Harburn
Maybe you’ve heard, I really like Boom! Studios and the books they put out. They do some franchise adaptations, but they’re better known and celebrated for the original comics they put out. Think Something is Killing the Children, BRZRKR, and We Only Find Them When They’re Dead. They each have an interesting premise that they run away with, able to build intrigue and mystery while going places that superhero comics don’t have the freedom to go. Behold, Behemoth is in the same ballpark, based on its first issue.
Behold Something New
It’s more than a bit cryptic but in the best way. It shows its story in a way that doesn’t tell you much, but just enough that you’re asking questions. It is a common idea that when writing a chapter of a story, you should at least ask questions or answer them. You want to do both, but sometimes you have to settle for one, and that’s commonly true of the first chapter of a story. In the first issue of Behold, Behemoth, the creative team does something incredible and asks a bunch of big questions, but answers the small yet more emotional ones immediately.
Without major spoilers, lets say that it doesn’t take much in terms of plot for the two main characters to immediately become people we care about. When it comes to Greyson and Wren, with their sympathetic traumas, I was immediately invested. I wanted these two to stick together and survive against the world’s wishes immediately.
The magic of the world-while key to the story–is minimal, and appears for just the right amount of time here. I want to learn about everything, but not in a frustrating way. I couldn’t spoil how this magic system works if I tried, but I’ve also never been happier to say that.
The art is what makes this all possible too. The art gives information to the reader with the mere way a character is framed. The way the book says so much with just a bit of detail in their face is a masterclass storytelling. Tension fills a scene with one look at a character’s face, and not faux tension before a fight. Tension that makes someone want to leave the room.
I have one minor gripe with the art. Some of the background areas feel washed out at times, like they’re a curtain behind the actual scene rather than a part of the setting. That’s a minor issue, that is completely outpaced by the settled attention to detail in all of the faces and expressions.
Behold, Behemoth Spoilers
SPOILERS, there is one thing about the plot that stuck out to me. There are flashforwards, implying two ongoing timelines, and the future apocalypse, while beautiful draw, still feels like every other apocalypse. I gotta be honest, barren landscapes have lost most, if not all of their appeal for me, but that’s just me.
Behold, Behemoth is another book to keep your eye on. This first issue is great, one of the best #1’s I’ve read this year, and if you like it, it’s probably a series you should add to your pull list. What’s your favorite book from Boom? Studios right now? Let me know in the comments below.