REVIEW: ‘Triage,’ Issue #1

Triage #1 is published by Dark Horse Comics and is written, drawn, colored, inked and lettered by Phillip Sevy. In Triage #1, Evelyn Pierce is a nurse. It’s all she’s ever wanted to be. But life seems to have decided differently. What comes next is something Evelyn couldn’t possibly see coming.

Triage #1 gets off to a confusing start. The reader is initially introduced to the character of Evelyn Pierce as she works her job as a nurse. Evelyn has a lengthy internal monologue about her life, goals, and future for the first several pages of the book. During this, the reader is presented with imagery that doesn’t quite make any sense upon first reading. It will make sense with time. Just not right away. Triage #1 imparts a sense of disorientation upon the reader that is quickly felt by the protagonist as well.  While this feels like the book trying to put the reader in a mental state similar to Evelyn’s, it also comes off as a bit jarring. By the time I was done with Triage #1, I appreciated the uniqueness of the approach.

As the story continues, Evelyn plans for her life are quickly dashed as she gets blamed for a mishap at the hospital she works for and is forced to take a leave from work. Shortly thereafter, she awakens one morning to find herself somewhere other than where she went to sleep. She is on some sort of space station with others just as confused as her. Things quickly devolve into a life or death chase that leaves the situation in Triage #1 on the standard cliffhanger.

Starting a story like this is always tricky. As with any new sci-fi story, there is a lot to explain but not enough time to do it in a natural and fluid way. Things must be left for later issues if the story is to progress. The best stories handle these reveals by leaving the reader eager to read more. The worst simply leave the reader confused and frustrated. Triage #1 falls solidly in the middle. While I am curious to know more about Evelyn and where her journey goes from here, the story failed to really hook me. I think if Sevy had focused the story a little bit more, and not spread the issue so thin over multiple characters as much, he might have had more time to invest in his main character. This would have invested me further. Instead, I find myself feeling fairly disconnected. While I don’t dislike Evelyn, I don’t really like her either.

Triage #1 provides a solid visual experience. The images are all clear and panels flow in an easy to follow way while still lending style to their arrangement on the page. I especially liked the color palette used for much of the book. There is a saturation of orange and purple in a lot of Triage #1 which gives it a vibrant feel. Sevy uses these color choices to give the book a very unique visual feel.

All in all, Triage #1 is a unique start for a new sci-fi story. It introduces the reader to the characters while leaving a mystery to pull the reader along for the next issue. With just a little more focus to the story so things could be a little more fleshed out I think Triage #1 could be the start of a very notable story.

Triage #1 is available now.