Time to take a look at a brand new series from Image called They’re Not Like Us — helmed by Eric Stephenson, one of the head honchos over at Image Comics and the man behind Nowhere Men (a very accurate title since it’s nowhere to be found currently). I have no idea what this comic is about, but I’m always willing to be surprised. Let’s see what we got today. Is it good?
They’re Not Like Us #1 (Image Comics)
An unnamed woman is about to commit suicide because she is unable to clear the voices filling her head. However, a mysterious man appears right before she jumps and intervenes. He’s there again when she wakes up in the hospital and wants to take her some place “where she belongs”…
They’re Not Like Us reads like a very twisted and messy X-Men origin tale, so there is a feeling of familiarity to it: the girl finding out she has powers, being recruited and rounded up by a person with a similar deal as hers, being brought into a home with people who are in a similar situation, and then being given a codename to live by. Familiar setup in some ways (minus the Sentinels and Magneto stand-in), but with a few demented twists that become more apparent as time goes on.
Honestly, besides the premise, They’re Not Like Us is standard setup stuff. There’s not much story, but more of an introduction to this nameless character — she’s well-characterized, easy to sympathize with, and thankfully able to catch on to the fact that something is very easily amiss about her new surroundings. The group she is forcefully brought to is interesting with regards to the rules they live by and what they do for a living but we don’t know much about them outside of their powers and they don’t seem all that interesting since besides the guy in the suit, it’s difficult to distinguish them from one another at this point. So concept and main character aside, the comic really hasn’t really given us much to chew on or get invested in.
For falling off a building, you seem like you are in pretty good shape.
The artwork by Simon Gane is perfectly fine. It’s not really my cup of the tea nor does Gane really get to stretch himself with anything really creative or interesting, but he gets the job done fine. The characters look fine, though their body physiques and portions look off in certain areas (some people have really thin arms and their heads are really pointy and angled oddly). The layouts are decent and most of the time and the backgrounds are noticeable and the coloring by Jordie Bellaire is visually striking as well.
Is It Good?
They’re Not Like Us #1 is a perfectly fine and decent enough start to this new series. It has an interesting concept so far and characters we can sympathize with, but not much has happened yet. The premiere issue focused solely on setup and not much else. At this point, I would only recommend checking this title out after the second issue is released, so you have much more to chew on than just this one alone.
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