Six months ago, Jim Hoke’s daughter Wendy disappeared from her room. All Jim caught was a glimpse of a hulking figure at the window—the kind of late night vision that’s easily written off as a hallucination. No one believes Jim’s story—and six months later, the retired pathologist is just looking for anyone who’ll still listen. With Wendy’s disappearance declared the coldest of cases, Jim believes he’s the only one who cares about finding his daughter. And he’s got a withered Father’s Day card in his pocket to remind him—all he can do is his best. Land of Never #1 delivers a new take on the classic Peter Pan.
Written by Steve Orlando, Land of Never #1 is a solid start taking a classic story and giving it a nice updated twist. When you really think about it, the story of Peter Pan is a rather twisted one that’s been sanitized by Disney making it feel a bit more wholesome. Children are take away from their family, willingly or unwillingly, it has a tinge of kidnapping that you think would leave their families in fear and devastated.
Land of Never #1 takes all of that and just cuts things out mixing the beloved classic with a true crime spin. A disgraced father is desperate searching for his daughter and all he knows is an individual flew her out of her room. The Floating Man is an internet myth, spotted in the area committing similar acts, with children disappearing.
What Orlando does really well is drives home the emotional fallout of the situation. Not just with Wendy’s father, but other individuals he meets while trying to discover the truth. He doesn’t know what to expect and is confronted by individuals whose reaction varies… a lot. It teases at a possible conspiracy but more of the emotional devastation the events have brought upon individuals.
The art drives home the horrific nature of it all. Miguel Mora not just depicts the Floating Man as a massive hulking being, feeling slightly twisted and non-human, but Wendy’s father Jim is shown as a broken man spiraling. With color by Fares Maese and lettering by Micah Myers, the visuals of the comic teases the desperation and the damaged life of Jim. But, it’s not just in his search for his daughter. Leading up to that moment, the visuals tell the readers all they need to know about Jim without going into specifics yet. We know just from the panels that he’s a screw-up and sunk to low depths. It’s only later we find out why. The visuals tease what is eventually revealed.
Land of Never #1 is a solid start to the series that delivers an interesting spin and unknown future direction. This isn’t as simple as Wendy being taken to a magical land, and the Floating Man is teased as something a bit more sinister. If you’re a fan of Peter Pan but want to see a bit more horror infused into the story, this is a debut to check out.
Story: Steve Orlando Art: Miguel Mora
Color: Fares Maese Letterer: Micah Myers
Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25 Recommendation: Buy
Mad Cave Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
