Nathan Bright had it all: an awesome girlfriend, a kickass dog, and a job as the number one weatherman on terraformed Mars. But when he’s accused of carrying out the worst terrorist attack in human history-an event that wiped out nearly the entire population of Earth-Nathan becomes the most wanted man alive and a target of a manhunt that spans the galaxy. But is Nathan truly responsible for such a horrific crime? And why can’t he remember?

Sci-fi stories at times can feel like they blend together riffing on each other. So many elements and concepts overlap that at times originality seems lacking. But, once in a while you get that entertaining story that stands out. Though it’s familiar, it presents itself in such a way that it stands out. The Weatherman #1 is that sort of comic.

Written by Jody LeHeup, The Weatherman stars an asshole. Nathan Bright is the type of character you’d want to punch in the face. Unlikeable, arrogant, he’s a type of white privilege personified. Mars is a world unto itself and Earth has been attacked. Nathan may be the one behind that attack as the first issue’s build leads up to. That’s not a spoiler, it’s in the pitch of the comic itself.

LeHeup uses the first issue to set up Nathan. He’s an ass. He works as a weatherman and generally has no regard for those around him beyond his dog. While Nathan is a person few of us would want to be friends with, he embodies the Youtube Celebrity culture of today, fun to watch in small doses. But, despite him being dislikable, the comic itself is beyond engaging.

Part of that is the art of Nathan Fox with colors by Dave Stewart. The art is fantastic and there’s so much detail that adds to the personality of the comic as a whole. This is very much an instance of show, don’t tell, and it works perfectly. The coloring is spot on as it creates a look for Mars that we know it’s a foreign world. This isn’t what we’d expect on Earth, even in similar landscape.

Now, I said above there’s a familiarity here. With so much on Mars, a terrorist attack, the look of some of the characters and settings, and a main character who doesn’t remember, it’s hard to not compare this to Total Recall. Reading the comic this felt like a comic that could easily be set in that world. But, due to the creative teams details and how they present it, the comic has a life of its own and a solid humor to it all.

Familiar? Yes. But, it’s really entertaining and a comic I really want to see where it all goes. This was one that sucked me in quickly and by the end I had a smile at the energy about it all. A solid debut that’s a definite buy.

Story: Jody LeHeup Art: Nathan Fox Color: Dave Stewart
Story: 8.35 Art: 8.35 Overall: 8.35 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review