REVIEW: ‘Decorum,’ Issue #1

Decorum #1  from Image Comics is written by Jonathan Hickman, drawn by Mike Huddleson, lettered by Rus Wooton, and designed by Sasha E Head.   I am only familiar with Hickman through his House of X/Powers of X,  X-Men event, from Marvel.   Presented in those mini-series, he utilized graphs,  statistics, and scientific data as a storytelling tool.  A feature I had never read before in a comic, and then soon, I realized that it was standard to Hickman’s writing. I went into Decorum #1 with heavy hopes for something along those lines.

From the start, Head’s design feels refreshing, new, and captivating with its sleek integration of a made-up, alien language.  The titles for the first chapter are in parenthesis and already, readers see Wooton’s work on letters. The font that he uses is thin and important words are in bold.   This sets the tone for refinement and this carries into the introduction of the book. Hickman’s script opens up with a  brief history of the current landscape of the universe he is creating.

The audience is tuned into the expansion of the Solar Empire where they created preserved habitats for different civilizations over the course of 10,000 years to reduce rapid expansion.  This transition’s into Huddleson taking the reigns over the narrative. The art style is an amalgamation of static scenery that looks like an oil painting and monochromatic sketches.  At first, it is jarring to see two opposing artistic approaches on the same page, however, Huddleson uses it to his advantage.  The monochromatic sketches show more dynamic action. Whereas, the full colored scenes are backdrops to envelop readers into the futuristic world  Hickman will soon guide us through. It took a second reading for me to gather that.  By then, I entirely engrossed in whatever was to come.

The rest of  Decorum #1 is split into two more parts.  We follow a courier, on her way to deliver a very important package to an unknown recipient.  Hickman characterizers her as the best delivery girl who has a chip in her shoulder and is always on the defense.  Her design features large headphones around her neck, a side-shaved hair-do and a giant backpack for her work.   The folks she works for look like indescribable, alien creatures or like humanoid robots. Huddleson’s character designs breathe life into a wholly original sci-fi universe.   The story quickly shifts to tension as our protagonist realizes that this delivery job will pay more than double the average job. Hickman masterfully crafts an air of intrigue surrounding the package. Soon, he lets readers into a world filled with dangerous assassins and space politics.

Overall,  Decorum #1 is an intriguing first issue, split into three parts to ensure that readers become familiar with the territory before thrown into an intergalactic narrative.   The entire creative team utilizes their skill sets to create a  thoroughly planned and sprawling sci-fi landscape that makes for a refined and chic reading experience. Featuring minimal coloring, graphs,  and monochromatic scenes,  this is a book that is begging you to pay close attention to it.

Decorum #1  is available wherever comics are sold now.