THE FUSE #1
Written by Antony Johnston
Art by Justin Greenwood
Published by Image Comics
Release date: February 12, 2014

Procedural cop dramas have found their way into space with The Fuse. Despite the dangers of firing a weapon on a space station someone has taken up the habit of shooting homeless residents, known as cablers, who then die very publicly in tourist locations set up on this space station.

Johnston does a good job of introducing us to a new world where people vacation, live and escape onto a large space station known as The Fuse. The story is told through the eyes of a new resident who is trying help solve the station’s crime problems, and his tough-as-nails, older, and more experienced partner. The dynamic between these two characters is enhanced by Greenwood’s art style that tends to exaggerate physical features and expressions. Moments of humor, outrage or sheer annoyance play out well through their expressions. Johnston also uses language to play up the fact that this station is truly the partnership of a global society with people coming from everywhere… even if they do all end up speaking English.

There are no over the top surprises in store, but some clear world building is being done with this issue. It will be interesting to see where it goes, or how far out the story goes, from here. From the first initial page you can tell there is more mystery to this murder-mystery than this first issue probably reveals. So just how far outside of standard crime conventions this series will go is still an unknown.

The Verdict: 7.5/10