Masked #1 Review

Masked #1
Writer: Serge Lehman
Pencils: Stephane Crety
Inks: Julien Hugonnard-Bert
Colors: Gaetan Georges
Letters:  Cat Connery
Translated by: Edward Gauvin
Publisher: Titan

Reviewed by David Hildebrand

Masked #1 starts out with a bang!  It begins with a flashback to Georgia, Eastern Europe, where a military unit has been ambushed by some very hi-tech weaponry.  The entire unit has been taken down except for Frank Braffort and Melissa Taleb.  The pair were saved by a mysterious caped hero, I am guessing he/she is a hero for now.  This is the only time we see him/her and it is a nicely crafted way to begin the story.

The story jumps ahead into the future, although it is not specified how long it has been since Frank was ambushed and saved.  Frank is now living in Paris with his sister, Raphaelle.  Paris now has a very Blade Runner esque feel and look about it.  There are flying cars, television programs being projected against the sides of buildings and into the sky.  The city is also having problems with machines called Anomalies popping up and causing chaos.  Frank is visited by an old army buddy, who takes him to meet Colonel Assan, a decorated soldier who is now in charge of security for a political figure.  The Colonel is in the middle of offering Frank a job that he cannot refuse when an anomaly attacks the politician at his press conference. All hell breaks loose and we are left with many questions that must wait until the next issue!

Masked: Anomalies was originally published in French back in 2012.  It was written by Serge Lehman and  It has been translated by Edward Gauvin. Lehman’s story is interesting and I am curious to where he is going with it.  Especially since most of the book is focused on the anomalies and Frank, instead of the caped character that graces the cover. It was also nice to have the story’s background explained more through news events being telecast throughout the city. Even though the story has started out strong, the art by Crety, Hugonnnard-Bert and Georges is the highlight of Masked #1.  I like the Paris backdrop or Paritropolis as it is named in the book.  The look of the characters, technology, and the anomalies are very well detailed and the art has a nice flow to it.

Verdict:
Buy it! To be honest, I read Masked #1 twice because I really didn’t know what I was getting into with this book.  I had never heard of the title until recently.  Sometimes it is a nice surprise when you go into a title and have no clue what it is about, only having the cover to guess.  But speaking of the cover, who the hell is the character in the cape?  Even if I didn’t like the book, I would have picked up the second issue just to see who this cat is!  The issue has a nice mix of action and story. I am looking forward to see where the second issue takes us.