Unearth #1 throws you into the nightmarish action. With a story by Cullen Bunn and Kyle Strahm, the debut mixes together science and horror to deliver a slightly unsettling start.

A disease is ravaging a remote Mexican village which sends a scientific task force to investigate the contamination. They trace the source of the disease to a nearby cave system leading to a subterranean adventure and nightmare.

Bunn and Strahm deliver an interesting start in Unearth #1. At first, the series feels like an over the top science-focused story. It has the sense of a film like Outbreak mixing tension, mystery, and disease. But, as we learn more, the story pivots to something much more. It begins to turn into a nightmarish horror story that’ll leave you saying “wtf” more than once.

And in that sense, the debut issue is really good. It leaves the reader on their toes not knowing what to expect but with a concept that’s straightforward. We’re not immediately dumped into a mystical world but instead the issue slowly builds as things get weirder. And, we’re left in the end we’re left with something that’s more The Descent than Outbreak.

The art by Baldemar Rivas is interesting. Each character is unique and you get a sense of their personality. The art evolves like the story itself giving us a more confined space as things proceed. I’d like to have seen more of that used as the team is driven further into the cave. A visual confinement to help drag the reader into that aspect a bit more. And, as issues play out, we might see that.

The debut is a good one that sets up more than enough of a mystery to have fans of horror coming back to find out more. It’s an interesting concept so far and there’s many directions to go and like the characters themselves, that leaves the read on their toes.

Story: Cullen Bunn, Kyle Strahm
Art: Baldemar Rivas Letters: Crank!
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review