I’m fascinated by openings. The beginning tells you a lot and sometimes you’re not even aware it’s happening like right now. I want you to trust me so I’m trying to appeal to you by being honest and not boring you with all the details of what BEYOND REAL #1 is about. (Don’t worry, I’ll get to it.) I’m the kind of person that will judge a novel by its opening sentence and if it doesn’t make me want to read the next one then I won’t. Sometimes this results in a very harsh response to things like I’ve read the first pages of comics and then dismissed them entirely because the first page didn’t do what I thought it should. It’s a snap judgment, I admit but there’s only so much time in the day.
Before I read BEYOND REAL #1 by Zack Kaplan, Fabiana Mascolo, Toni Fejzula, Jordie Bellaire, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, I spent some time thinking about what the first page should be and what the first page needed to be. All those thoughts vanished as I peered inside the book and gazed upon the large opening image of a couple staring up at the night sky. In that singular image, you’re taught what the book is. It’s a love story and if you’re not attached to these people by the end of the spread across pages 2 and 3 then I’m sorry but you may be heartless. You may want to get that checked.
It’s a stunning opening that climbed inside my heart and made itself a nice little nest. And then… I don’t want to walk you through it all because it’s heart wrenching and beautifully done and you should just read it for yourself. It works so well that when June is shown crying, I cried.
Do you know how difficult that is to pull off? For me to be lock-step with the character, a character I just met pages before, it’s probably easier to pick up a car and move with it with your bare hands.
The story opens and expands into this truly captivating sci-fi adventure that feels a bit like if Neil Gaiman had written The Matrix. It’s here that I imagine the letterer, Otsmane-Elhaou, cracking his knuckles and saying “Okay, let’s get to work” because this may be his finest hour. That’s saying something because he’s doing excellent work in The Flash as well as several other books. Not only does the lettering carry you through the merging of genres but there’s some truly captivating tricks done that elevate and extend the breaking down of reality that June is experiencing.
I mentioned earlier how I was lock-step with what June was feeling throughout the first half of this comic and that is due almost entirely to the art, specifically the coloring which perfectly accentuates the mood and the shifting emotions throughout. There are the red panels early on that help speak to June’s rage and hurt. Then as her journey progresses, we fall deep into her mind and the coloring is keeping time with the rhythm set by Kaplan’s script and then Mascolo’s line work seems to set up the switch into Fejzula’s. For a book that is going to be shifting between different artists as part of its conceit, this first issue is very reassuring with both the lettering and the coloring that as a reader, I’m in incredible safe hands.
June is my new favorite comic character and I can’t wait to see what sorts of trouble she gets into. I remain floored and just downright impressed at how deep my connection with a brand new character is after one issue. The layouts really elevate the emotional connection. I don’t think it’s easy to show the way the human mind works through trauma on a static page and that’s expertly followed by Kaplan’s writing of June’s search for answers. This book is bursting with human spirit and it’s a joy to read, even when I’m ugly crying through the majority of it.
As part of an early peek at the series, I’ve read #1 through #3 and I can say that everything I’ve said here carries forth through the next couple issues. Beyond Real should not be missed by anyone who enjoys heartfelt adventures in comics or any other medium. This should be on your list not only as must read comics but this should be a top comic to recommend to folks who may be new to comics.
