As a devout follower of superheroes, therefore I got excited writing my first review of an indie comic. Likewise, I was also interested in how DOSE! #1 would make use of the genre. DOSE! is the first issue in an independent comic series by writer Sean Ellis and artist John Gebbia. It depicts a society where violence surrounding superheroes and monsters has become an everyday occurrence. We follow Screw Worm, a former teenage superhero that has lapsed into a cycle of sleep and drugs. Because of this, Worm is afraid to leave his apartment, and catered to by a snarky droid, he receives news from endless holovid streams.
On one particular day, Worm’s droid companion, Sonny Boy, tries to get Worm out of his funk. He encourages him to go outside. A newscaster reports the murder of an old colleague of Worm’s, Pinky Blue by a villainous gang. Worm begins to spiral, brought on by his paranoia and the drugs until Sonny Boy calms him down. It’s clear that Worm somewhat wants to change his ways. But still, he remains buried under self doubt and a collection of junk refuses to get rid of. Eventually, Worm ends up convinced to go out.
Worm ends up at a party in a place called the Pleasure Dome; and it’s exactly what it says on the tin. Worm relapses and quickly begins to look for a dealer of his drug of choice, Metaphene. He scores a hit, and then told to wait by a mysterious stranger. Said stranger tells him of a superhuman, Meta Kate, with the ability to get the crowd high on ‘ecstatic bliss’. What follows is a mad scramble for the ultimate high, the stranger preventing anyone else from getting in. Swept up in the crowd, Worm is desperate to reach what has been promised.
Where to start? Ellis manages to tell a slick story, complemented by the black-and-white art of Gebbia. This is often the first thing you notice about every scene; and you’ll linger on each page, spying every detail. From Worm’s cramped quarters to the Pleasure Dome, the world is incredibly fleshed out. It feels very lived-in and realistic; no character forgotten. Although, this sometimes creates difficulty tracking the story, often feeling claustrophobic. It all comes across as a metaphor for what Worm’s life has become.
However, the world feels incredibly rich. There’s a hand-drawn map at the end of the issue; this comes alongside the use of newscasters to reveal more; a nifty in-universe reference guide also accompanies the two. We discover the breadth of the world. Superheroes; Kaiju; cybernetic cosmetic surgery and controversial medical advancement, some of which is abundantly disturbing. Meta Kate’s ability to secrete her high-inducing pheromones through her skin to be licked by her ‘fans’ as she crowd surfs around the room stands out. Disturbing. But then again, Ellis clearly wants his readers to feel uncomfortable. There’s plenty of creepy imagery and a surprising touch of dark humour, especially from the newscasters.
All this creates an exciting environment for the characters to interact with; it creates intrigue on how a society would react to such phenomena when it is too abundant. However, by the end you cannot help but feel underwhelmed. The issue ending with Worm desperate to receive Meta Kate’s ‘gift’ fails to provide any hook for future issues. There’s no semblance of an over arching narrative, or what Worm’s character journey will be. Granted, this may be due to the self-funded nature of DOSE! restricting the issue length. But it still feels like a missed opportunity to encourage readers to return.
The solicit text pitches the issue as a neo-noir. He states that Screw Worm ‘…unwittingly stumbles onto a conspiracy that threatens to hasten the destruction of a world already teetering on the edge of collapse’. The conspiracy element is lacking in this first issue. But it’ll be interesting to see how this story evolves in future issues. Whatever the case, this reader remains on the line as a sucker for detailed world building and reinterpretations of a genre that is rapidly becoming oversaturated.
DOSE! #1 and #2 are available to read here now! Will you check out the future of this intriguing series? Don’t forget to let us know what you think down in the comments or on Twitter!
