REVIEW: Take your meds with ‘Surgeon X #1′

Overview

Story by: Sara Kenney

Art by: John Watkiss

Publisher: Image Comics

FG RATING

5/ 5

User Rating

3 total ratings

To sum it all up..

The main reason I pick up Surgeon X #1 is the fact that Karen Berger‘s name appears in the cover. For the uninitiated, Ms. Berger served as Vertigo’s top editor because she stepped down in 2012 and she was one of the few responsible of redefining the comic medium, particularly bringing fresh talents to American […]

Posted September 29, 2016 by Paul Ramos

FULL REVIEW

The main reason I pick up Surgeon X #1 is the fact that Karen Berger‘s name appears in the cover. For the uninitiated, Ms. Berger served as Vertigo’s top editor because she stepped down in 2012 and she was one of the few responsible of redefining the comic medium, particularly bringing fresh talents to American comic book mainstream like Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, Scott Snyder, Brian K. Vaughan, and Neil Gaiman. In other words, she is the force to be reckoned with. And in all seriousness, her editing prowess remains strong in this gripping new independent series opener. This premier issue has no interruptions whatsoever, just pure rock solid story and an excellent artistry by John Watkiss.

Imagine this not-so-distant future: governments control your health, not doctors; and worse, a simple infection trumps over antibiotics. This is what exactly Surgeon X wants to show readers in a possible future where politicians and populist euphoria decide over rationality and scientific/medical endeavors. First time comic book writer Sara Kenney pulls off an unexpected twist of delivery an intriguing, engaging and thought provoking tale in the sci-fi-medical genre that almost mixes well with socioeconomic-cultural-political themes that are actually contemporary topics right here and right now (i.e. immigration, big businesses controlling medicines, the economic widening between the wealthy and the poor, fear mongering, etc). Thus, the utterance of the main character, “Life is a privilege, not a right”, is actually devastating, if not straightforward, encapsulates to what is actually happening in our global situation in regards of abusing and misusing medicines to gain profit over the general welfare.

Surgeon X #1 marks the return of Karen Berger in comic fold. However, the story and the interiors by Kenney and Watkiss respectively are equally worth reading and pondering on the possibility of a dark future where greed and stupidity trump over social responsibility, medical and scientific endeavors, and rationality.