Review - The Hypernaturals #1

BOOM! Studios has been teasing the new collaboration for months now. Building up to an event of interstellar and galactic consequences. Creating an entirely new superteam of two creators with the team name DnA. And rolling it all up into a brand new series starting with The Hypernaturals #1.

The series is written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. It features art by Brad Walker and Andres Guinaldo, colors by Stephen Downer and letters by Ed Dukeshire. Oh, and it has nine (!) covers by Francesco Mattina, Trevor Hairsine, Phil Noto, Timothy Green II, Stefanie Gonzaga, Bill Sienkiewicz and Brad Walker.

Koobalt, Bewilder, Thinkwell, Shard and Clone 45 make up the Hypernaturals, an intergalactic supergroup who opens the first issue an epic battle with Sublime, an evil being hellbent on destroying them with the aid of the Nephilim fragment. That was all seven years ago.

In a quieter future, Hatch Groman (Clone 45) is leading a very uneventful life, constantly waking up to dreams (or nightmares?) of that battle with sublime. It's in the present that he learns the present incarnation of the Hypernaturals were wiped out on a routine mission, creating a need for new blood.

Oz Sheppard (Shoal) and Deedee Cadiz (Halfshell) are part of the new blood infusion, investigating the aftermath of an event that caused 18 million people to disappear. the investigation doesn't go quite according to plan, setting up the second issue nicely.

The Hypernaturals #1 has a solid story at its core, but man do Abnett and Lanning write some dense dialogue. Some of the pages are dripping with words, which isn't bad at all, but there's a lot to take in here. The duo do a fantastic job establishing the universe the reader will live in though, so none of the words are wasted.

The jury is still out on Sublime as the main antagonist. He really only has a cameo at the beginning, but the lasting effects of that battle seven years into the future show how powerful he really is. Watching the Hypernaturals face off against him and/or other foes will be interesting to see.

The art by Walker and Guinaldo is curious. There are some panels that almost seem out of focus. It could be the copy reviewed, but it's not entirely consistent throughout. It's a little distracting because your eyes are constantly shifting between foreground and background to make out the illustrations.

The illustrations are well done though, especially the few pages at the beginning depicting the epic space battle between the Hypernaturals and Sublime. Downer uses a fairly wide color palette, but most of the colors used are somewhat muted, creating a washed out effect as you read.

Marvel in the 80s seemed to do a lot of the intergalactic stuff and The Hypernaturals #1 feels sort of like that. It's got a science fiction feel without being overly science fiction and really sets up a great playgound for the characters to romp around in.

The mystery of 28 Kosov is naturally going to be the catalyst for future issues, which makes what the Hypernaturals find there that much more intriguing. It's a strong first issue that gives you everything you need to stick around for more.

The Hypernaturals #1 is in stores June 27 with interiors below.