Nowhere Men #1

Written by Eric Stephenson
Art by Nate Bellegarde

When I think of Eric Stephenson as a writer, and not as the publisher of Image Comics, two things come to mind - god-awful work on Rob Liefeld's god-awful comics back in the day, and hipster romance books like The Long Hot Summer.  That last one was enjoyable, but he's never been a writer whose work I've sought out, and in the last ten years, he really hasn't written much.

I was intrigued a little by Nowhere Men though, mostly because Nate Bellegarde's name has been popping up in a few different places lately, and I'm always willing to try a new Image title.

This book owes a little to the success of The Manhattan Projects in making people want to read about scientists again, as Stephenson gives us a slightly confusing first issue.  When the book opens, we are introduced to four scientists who have just formed their own company - World Corp (they are all supposed to be brilliant, but that is the best name they can come up with apparently).

A couple of pages later, and we're watching footage of an indestructible gorilla tearing through a lab.  We learn that it's been ten years, and that there are only three of the World Corp. crew still around, and they do not get along with each other.

From there, we are introduced to a group of people who are working for World Corp. somewhere, and they are all getting sick with some unknown disease.  They discover that their funding has been cut, and that they are to remain where they are under quarantine in perpetuity.  The last page reveals where they are (which, so far as surprises go, wasn't that momentous).

Stephenson spent most of this issue on exposition and introducing a large cast of characters.  He piqued my interest a little, and I definitely liked Bellegarde's art, which is a little like a cross between the Luna Brothers and Nick Pitarra.  I'll probably pick up the next issue, but I'm not sure if I'm in for the long-haul or not.