Review: Whispers #1

Whispers is the first solo outing for Joshua Luna of the Luna Bros. The story follows Sam, a young obsessive compulsive germophobe who discovers he has the ability to ‘ghost’ people he knows simply by thinking of them. The opening scene sets up the story perfectly. We are introduced to all of Sam’s social quirks (and there are many), and I felt an instant warming to the character.

Sam’s ghost like ability is intriguing – no one can see him, and he can here and subtly manipulate there thoughts.
The possibilities of how it could be used are endless, and you get the feeling that things aren’t going to work out they way you want them too. Sam turns from loveable oddball too slightly creepy stalker. You’re still on his side, but you know he’s going to do some weird things in the future. One of the strengths of the Luna Brothers’ work is there ability to rock a last page ‘Holy crap!’ reveal, and while we don’t get that here, the series is set up nicely, with enough of a dangling thread to desire the next part of the story.

The first thing that struck me about the art was how different it is to his work with his brother Jonathan. His lines aren’t as spartan, there’s a little more depth, and his colours are a lot richer. He still struggles with anatomy a little – characters often have necks that are a little too long, or have hands at slightly unnatural angles, but his strength has always been in visual storytelling. Whispers is no exception – his art moves the story forward, it’s easy to follow and introduces the main characters to the audience with ease.

Being Joshua Luna’s first appointment as an artist AND writer, I was pleasantly surprised at how natural the dialogue was, how much I was engaged with the narrative and the quality of the characters. All in all, a great first issue.