Surgeon X #1 Review

Surgeon X #1
Written by Sara Kenney
Art by John Watkiss
Colors by James Devlin
Letters by Jared K Fletcher
Edited by Karen Berger

Review by John Dubrawa

Given the current Presidential election hellscape here in the United States, coupled with the recent Brexit debacle overseas, it’s inevitable for some politically-charged narratives to bleed over into our beloved comics medium. Hell, the Marvel Universe is currently embroiled one such conflict, influenced heavily by our world’s headlines. Image Comics is throwing their hat into the “this is the horrible future dystopia we’re heading for at full speed” ring with Sara Kenney’s Surgeon X, a new series with something fairly interesting to say. Whereas most narratives surrounding our unavoidable end times have dealt with giving the middle finger to the environment or launching a never-ending war, Kenney’s message is tuned toward antibiotics and organized medicine. It’s a message worth hearing, but one that is also unfortunately lacking in its execution.

Part of the trouble is in Surgeon X’s bizarre narrative structure. Sandwiched between the book’s intriguing conflict–a mayoral debate between a far-right-leaning candidate and a doctor while activists protesting the government’s ban on antibiotics rage war outside–is an overly long flashback featuring our titular surgeon, Rosa Scott. While Rosa’s backstory is a critical part of the story moving forward, Kenney can’t find a natural place for this information to go, so the steady pace of the issue comes to a sudden halt. It doesn’t help matters that this flashback sequence feels like an out-of-place over-the-top medical drama whereas the rest of Kenney’s writing is a taut political thriller.

From an art perspective, Surgeon X is equally all over the map. John Watkiss’ line work is very heavy, which shines in the larger set pieces of the book but loses a lot of the emotional beats in the quieter, close-up moments, particularly the aforementioned flashback. James Devlin’s colors are a fine accompaniment but oftentimes the panels are pitched in too much shadow, resulting in some overly-hidden faces and indistinguishable actions.

Verdict
Check It Out. While this first issue of Surgeon X is not an instant recommendation, it does have some interesting ideas that aren’t being explored in many other places right now, so for those interested in a different kind of political thriller it might be worth checking out. Others might find this one better as a collected trade, as the muddled pacing of this first issue makes it hard to recommend outright.