Low #1 Review

• Low is a book about optimism. And optimism is not an indicative trademark of comics the past few decades. It's especially not a trademark of Rick Remender. Self loathing alcoholics, damaged teenagers and self absorbed scientists. Those are the characters that permeate his books. What the cast of Low face is no less terrifying then anything you're used to in a Remender book. Alien extermination, teenage assassination, or barreling through possible dimensional damnation is hard to compare to the sun making our earth inhospitable. Why? Well because this will eventually happen to our own world. The fiction of all this may be that we as a species actually make it to the point that it's our own sun that screws us. But being pessimistic when writing a review for a comic about hope?...Shame on me. Remender does an admirable job in making the world of Low layered. This isn't the beginning of the end. This is a world far closer to that brink of hopelessness. In the time between the world we inhabit now and the one of Low where man has since descended down into the ocean, you're made immediately aware that this world has history. Low consists of empires, outcasts, and dynasties. The characters of Low unfortunately don't find that same love and attention as the world. I understood why I was supposed to care. But I wasn't given enough character to really feel sympathetic to inhabitants of this world. It's a problem that many series have when introducing a comic with this scope.
• The art by Greg Tocchini is perhaps Low's most alluring prospect. Some of the finer details can be lost amongst the backdrop of the city but it's a small complaint. The design of this world is where Low is incredible. Something that feels like a combination of Cloud City and ancient Greece with something I can only describe as being circular in form and function. It's easier to understand that last bit when you read Low. And you should read Low. The story strikes me as the start to something big, and while the characters may take there time to develop the plot moves at a pace to keep you engaged. It's a book you'll want to dive into

Final Score 8/10