In a future where a deadly virus kills everyone upon reaching adulthood, teenagers are confined to massive medical facilities—until a mysterious new patient arrives and reveals a shocking secret! Sara is locked up in El Castillo, a fortress for troubled youth ruled with an iron fist by a retired military officer. Everything changes with the arrival of a mysterious new patient who reveals a shocking secret. Juvenile #1 is an interesting concept that teases what’s to come.

Written by and art by Jesús Orellana, Juvenile #1 is an interesting start to the series that teases what’s to come. The description text really spoils things, but the first issue is a nice build up if you haven’t read the full description of the first issue.

Orellana crafts a concept that feels like a mix of things we’ve seen before. There’s stories of adults dying from a disease leaving kids facing a horrific fate. There’s stories of abilities due to various reasons. And of course, there’s youth in a facility that rally against their jailers. Juvenile #1 is a mix of all of that and the end result is good. The setting has a feel of a cold hospital. The kids are interesting enough with some teases of the type of interactions you’d expect. We get to know enough of everything with a focus heavily on the facility it all takes place in.

Orellana gives a lot of small detail in the art and the characters’ look and body language to help build the world. There’s decorations on the walls, the clothing people wear, even the color choices, it all comes together to really good a sense of the setting and history of this debut. Decorations on a wall tell of a character’s military background for instance while the use of white in clothing really emphasizes the cold and sterile nature of it all.

Juvenile #1 shows potential. The comic doesn’t quite stand out but it feels like a debut that’s going to build into an interesting read and the whole might be stronger than the individual parts. Overall, it’s not a series that feels totally original but it still feels like one that should get better as it gets further into the story.

Story: Jesús Orellana Art: Jesús Orellana Letterer: Jesús Orellana
Story: 7.85 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.8 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

---

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle