Review: Monocyte #1

Monocyte #1
Written by Kasra Ghanbari, Menton Matthews III.

Two warring immortal races rule a scarred world where time has no meaning. Death (Azrael) sits impotent, quietly planning his restoration. He summons Monocyte, a forgotten immortal necromancer who long ago chose sleep in his failed quest to die. With a fatal pact sealed, Monoctye strikes out as Azrael’s vicious proxy. Art by menton3 (ZvR: Aventure, Silent Hill) and co-written by Kasra Ghanbari.

Review Score: 8/10
Monocyte is a four issue bi-monthly series. Right away when you pick up the book you will notice that Matthews’ art style works for the genre of story that he and Ghanbari are telling. This dark future of immortal races with “Death” knocking on the door.

The first issue introduces all the main characters of the story and gives you a glimpse of the action to come. This is a non-traditional comic book with some pages letting the artwork deliver the story with little to no dialogue. Then there are some pages that are full of information on the characters with one static image. These static pages act as a well-timed break in story telling. The closing passage of Shakespeare’s Henry V adds to the flare of the book. It indicates that there will be a grand scope and not everyone is who they seem.

I gave Monocyte an 8 of 10 because the book needs just a bit more script. The art and concept grabbed me but the script is what will hold me. Matthews and Ghanbari have a solid background in the subject matter and I’m betting that will shine in later issues.

Monocyte is a book that takes a chance at being different and succeeds.

Here is the prequel to Monocyte:

Here is a 12-page preview of Monocyte:

Matthew Sardo

A 20-something trapped in the body of a 30-something describes me perfectly. I have taken ownership of my dorkdom and launched it to a whole new level with my love of comic books, movies, hockey, scotch, mashed potatoes and Chicago.