No Tomorrow 1 of 5 Review

“Death is a natural part of life, but what happens when it goes rogue? A new horror enters the Grimm Universe and it’s one whose name is spoken in hushed tones and fearful whispers.”

“Keres, the Goddess of Death, will wreak havoc on an unsuspecting Earth, and one family man will feel the effects more than any other.When death arrives at the door, there is…”

“NO TOMORROW!”

These are the words on the opening page of the new, larger-than-life mini-series from Zenescope, No Tomorrow. The story opens with two seemingly unconnected stories unfolding in front of us: A brother and sister meet up in an airport while a mother comforts her nervous little boy before the plane they are on takes off. Two ordinary and mundane everyday events, these particular events are happening at an airport in Denver though, right before one of the largest earthquakes ever. Massive destruction ensues.

Cut now to our protagonist, Patrick, waking up on his 40^th birthday. Again a seemingly unconnected event, save for the fact that while eating breakfast with his family the TV news is reporting the story. While watching the news Patrick notices a woman standing in the rubble of the airport, that no one else seems to notice.

This disregarded character is Keres: a character that does not speak in this first issue, but who does whistle Moonlight Sonata (one of my all-time favorite pieces of music). While Patrick is stuck at work, the Goddess of death shows up. In the guise of a typical office worker, no one questions her presence in the office. When things begin to become strange at work though, Patrick realizes where he’s previously seen this new girl and suspects foul play. Patrick chases Keres out of the building right before the story ends on big cliffhanger.

Though very well written the book has the trappings of a typical first issue in a mini-series. This is your traditional set up story – the main characters are introduced, a cataclysmic event draws mismatched characters together, and we end on a cliffhanger. Aside from the earthquake in the beginning and the cliffhanger event at the end, nothing really happens in this issue.

Those shortcomings aside, the story is well executed. Raven Gregory does a great job of introducing us to this world and getting the reader emotionally invested in the characters and events with in the book. The beats of the book are well executed. Even though there are some dramatic transition within this comic, at no time does the reader feel lost with what’s going on in the story. And it is easy to become emotionally invested in Patrick’s life by the end of this issue.

The art of J.G. Miranda with colors by Liezl Buenaventura is very well done and reminds of the animation style found in some of the recent DC direct-to-video offerings such as Flashpoint. The cover art by Stjepan Sejic is done in the classic Zenescope style with Keres front and center with all of the sex appeal you expect from this publisher’s titles.

I suspect we will learn more in the subsequent issues of Keres and her plans as well as her connection to Patrick. I look forward to continuing on with No Tomorrow, and find myself waiting on pins and needles for the next issue.

I give No Tomorrow 7 out of 10 capes. This is definitely worth putting on your pull list.