In the last year, creator Matt Garvey has exploded on to the UK small press scene to produce some very eclectic and enjoyable comics, in particular his breakout title Chunks. Now he moves away from prior genres to create sci-fi thriller Transfer with artist Eder Messiah and we’ve been given a fantastic early look. But will this be another Chunks-like success, or will Transfer end up being somewhat null and void?

Publisher: Matt Garvey & Eder Messiah
Writer: Matt Garvey
Artist: Eder Messiah (Art), Matt Garvey (Colours and Letters)
Price: TBC

Our rating: [star rating=”3.5″]

Transfer tells the story of Steve, a courier in the near future who is flying into the States to make a drop off. However, unlike a normal courier, Steve isn’t transporting a letter or a package but instead is transporting a whole other mind. Steve is in a special kind of business, where he helps people leave their old lives in this DNA tracking society by transferring their minds from body to body with aid of a courier. However, when his current client turns out to be someone far more unsavory than was expected, Steve may find his own life ends up looking very different.

With Transfer, Matt Garvey has drummed up a very interesting story centred around a cool premise which feels ripped from the possibility of where society will go. This is no more exemplified by the DNA needle and helps feed the idea of the Johnny Nemonic-like service which Steve is offering. That said, this first issue does falter slightly from its lack of characterisation, as many of the characters feel a little two dimensional, especially the cliched mob villains. However, an excellent and unexpected cliffhanger ending to this first issue may certainly allow us to see more growth.

As for the art, Eder Messiah provides a truly solid range in this title with the book looking sharp and detailed and, along with Garvey’s colours, very futuristic. This is shown right from the outset as the cityscape from the sky in the first panel is truly gorgeous. The entire issue has a very cinematic feel to it, as its pace runs like a TV show, especially in many panels which lack speech bubbles, as Messiah looks to be given free reign to visually tell the story. Of course, this isn’t exactly flawless as, while still looking good, the art quality looks to drop as the comic progresses and winds up.

Transfer is a really enjoyable first issue for a series which, while possessing a couple of flaws, contains enough fun and promise to really learn from its mistakes and become a seriously captivating story. If you are a fan of sci-fi or of Garvey’s other books, this is definitely worth a look.