Netflix has become one of those big business machines which produce dozens of television shows and movies at a breakneck pace. It has brought the rise of similar streaming services which have years to go before it can catch up to what Neflix has accomplished. It gave creators freedom in ways that other networks are only beginning to understand and emulate. One of the shows that broke ground and evoked nostalgia for many was Baz Luhrman’s The Get Down.

The show revolved around bunch of teens that through music and the trappings of their neighborhood rose above what was expected of them and realized their dreams. The show gave those of us who grew up in that era a romanticized vision of the birth of Hip Hop. Despite its short tenure, it brought light to the fact that even today stories like these were few and far between. In the epic debut issue of Tephlon Funk, we meet a cast of characters whose grit, much like the characters in The Get Down, give readers heroes to root for.

We’re taken to Queensbridge, New York, where we meet Inez Jozlyn, a downtrodden 14-year-old whose neighborhood has gotten the best of her and her direction in life. We also meet the neighborhood crime lord, Kefflow, who Inez would like to work for since she saw all the money her friend Nassim was making. Everything changes when she meets Gabriel Ainsley, who stops Inez before she makes the same mistake as Nassim. His reasons are more personal than honorable. By issue’s end, we meet Cameron Phoenix, an ambitious young cop whose motivation for stopping Kefflow is personal for other reasons, one which she hopes to infiltrate with an undercover police operation

Overall, an interesting premise that more than delivers on several fronts. The story by Stephane Metayer is electrifying and storied. The art by David Tako and Nicholas Safe is gorgeous and iridescent. Altogether, it’s a new world the reader will be more than happy to get to know.

Story: Stephane Metayer Art: David Tako and Nicholas Safe
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy