Review: Eight Billion Genies #1 (of 8)

There are more to comic books than just superheroes, which fans pretty much take as a given nowadays. With that said, there will be some fans who will wish for the mature glory days of Vertigo books. Thanks to the proliferation of indie comics however, Vertigo fans got their wish, at least kind of. This then is the idea behind this new book from Image Comics. What would you do with only one wish?

The premise of the book is quite simple, what if eight billion people had one wish each? How would that work? What if two wishes were actual contradictions. Thanks to the savvy of a mysterious bartender, one place seems an unfazed nexus where its patrons, and by virtue the readers get front row seats to the ensuring chaos.

At times, I have been a huge Charles Soule fan; predominately his Superman Wonder Woman run which suffered from crossover-itus and some of his Star Wars work. I know that this isn’t the be all and end all of Soule’s work; this book itself goes to prove that there is a huge level of imagination to Soule’s writing. Here, the bartender, who clearly knows more than he is letting on, is king of all he sees. The customer base is a snapshot of life with possible lovers, a band looking to make it big and the disappointment of a child thrown in for good measure. With the genies, there are the usual types of request, all realised with style and chaotic humour to boot. I do wonder how they story will progress; I imagine that after a while, the zany and the crazy will get tired. This then is where Soule’s biggest switch and bait is going to have top happen. It’s all well and good having the extreme wishes brought to life, the key will be the relationships of the various customers of the bar which make up a large part of this issue

The art, design and colors are provided by Ryan Browne, with help on colors from Kevin Knipstein. There is a kind of world weary look to the art; it could be you r neighbourhood that is shown. In front of several well detail backgrounds, the main characters can appear a little cartoony, with heavy lines used, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it does allow for extreme facial reactions to the going ons. Thanks to to the myriad of spurious wishes, Browne get to have fun creating everything from dinosaurs, superheroes and giant robots! I love the designs of the genies; initially you see them as cute, buts there is devilment in their eyes! Colors are probably a mixed bag, with dark colors for the interior of the pub and a washed out vibe used fro some of the wishes. It’s an interesting contrast that may solidify as the story moves along. Letters are provided by Chris Crank who does well with both the amount of word and the various intonations required from several sources. Finally, Jenny Frisson supplies a cover which clearly sets the books stall out.

Being not really sure what to expect from this book, I have to say I found the whole book charming in a subtly horrifying way. I do have reservations about the longevity of the premise; once the fun has stopped with all the wishes, will there be enough left tin the tank to resolve the problems caused? I could wish for a conclusion, but I think that would mean missing so many interesting ideas and observations.

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Charles Soule
Art, design and Colors by; Ryan Browne
Color assists by; Kevin Knipstein
Letters by; Chris Crank
Cover A by; Jenny Frisson
Published by; Image Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network