If you’re not choked up or bawling by the end of We Live #1, you have no heart. I don’t think a comic has hit me the way this one has. It’s not an exaggeration, I’m not embarrassed to say it, I was tearing up and crying by the end. Explaining it to my wife… choked up and tears. It’s just a hell of a first issue that hits you where it counts and delivers an emotional punch in it’s amazing sci-fi world and beautiful art.
With a story by Roy and Inaki Miranda, We Live #1 takes us to 2084. Humanity and Earth have been hit by calamity after calamity. Humanity is struggling to survive. The world has been sent a message with a countdown to extinction from space. But, there’s hope. Five thousand children will be rescued by the mysterious beings who sent the message.
We Live #1 follows a group of these children who must make their way to the nearest Beacon before time runs out. Hototo is one of the lucky five thousand and is being helped on his journey by his teenage sister Tala.
The Mirandas knock the issue out of the park. The world-building is entertaining and with great pacing it feels organic but in reality it’s pages of setup. It’s the journey we go on as readers though, that’s the real triumph.
On the surface this debut issue is a simple story. A group of individuals must get to a location by a certain time. There’s no way the journey goes smoothly. Of course it’s going to go sideways and there’ll be threats all over. It’s a given. And that’s the journey and story we get… until it’s so much more and that’s not until the final few pages.
We learn about Hototo and Tala and that’s when the waterworks begins. Expecting a standard sci-fi adventure, and it’d be a hell of a comic with just that, I was totally unprepared and unexpected for what we’d learn, how we’d learn it, and the touching moments shown. As I said, to start, you’ll be fighting back tears.
Part of the magic of the first issue is the art. Inaki Miranda handles that duty as well. Inaki is joined on color by Eva De La Cruz and lettering by Dave Sharpe. The art style is fantastic with a disarming cuteness about the characters and designs that belie the nature of the story. Hototo, Tala, all of the kids are adorable. The design of some of the characters are amazing. The colors pop off of the page. This is a cute comic that disarms you with the art and hits you with an emotional punch. Sharpe packs in a lot of dialogue at times, there’s a lot packed into panels at times and it works.
We Live #1 is the best debut I’ve read this year. I can find no faults and it had me bawling. It’s an entertaining story, an engrossing world, and full of emotions. This is a comic that should be on everyone’s pull list.
Story: Roy Miranda, Inaki Miranda Art: Inaki Miranda
Color: Eva De La Cruz Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy
AfterShock provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics
