Review by Michael Smith

Writer: Jeff Parker

Artist: Steve Lieber

Published by Image Comics

So we have a comic that does not have Vikings, cannibals, colored rings, or even President Obama on the cover? How is this comic going to make it? How about with great writing and strong artistic presence? That sums up the feeling I got as I finished Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber’s first issue of their upcoming Image Comics miniseries.

The first issue centers around Kentucky Park Rangers Wes and Seth as they fight locals, including town big shot Barefoot, about what to do with a large cave. The town’s people want to turn it into a money making attraction and the Park Rangers are trying to protect it’s natural beauty. I have to admit the story started a little slow but that allowed something that seems outdated these days called “character development”. The opening scenes with Wes in the bathroom are insightful, funny and well written.

It is great to see a strong female lead character written in a manner that she does not have to rely solely on her cleavage and skin tight clothes to get her through each and every situation. We find ourselves instead viewing a character that has strong convictions and the intelligence to back up her beliefs. By the end of the story I felt I had a good grasp of each of the characters and actually found myself caring what happened to each and every one of them.

I think the art was point on for the story and the cast all possessed qualities you would find in real people. The issue contains a lot of scenes driven on more dialogue rather than action and that can be a challenge for an artist to create a visual telling of the story to compliment the written story. Lieber does a great job of pulling this off flawlessly. The colors were well done and the scenes where the Park Rangers are underground in the caves are really thought out perfectly. I also would be remiss if I did not mention the hypnotic cover and the faces in the cave walls.

I can honestly say that based on the information from the solicitation I was not expecting a lot from this issue or the series for that matter. I am familiar with Parker’s recently successful series from Marvel in Agents of Atlas and several of his other works but this seemed to be a little mundane for his style. I was completely wrong. This book allows Parker to step up and show more of his ability in skill as he develops the characters and story so precisely that it feels real. Lieber is known for his work on the soon to be feature motion picture Whiteout when it was published under Oni Press. You can see the progression and growth of Lieber’s work from then to now.

I feel bad looking back thinking that this book wasn’t going to be something I checked out. Great writing, strong character development, good art, and a story worth reading is always something that I am in the mood to check out and Underground delivers. For those that were on the fence or might have missed this one I suggest you give it a second thought and check this book out – it is worth your time and money.

Rating: 8 out of 10 (On its way to Greatness!)