This week, we take a look at Nic Paul and Rory Donald’s first issue of their comic book, Resurrection Men, a tale about a man who discovers he can undo death and begins a battle against those who desire this power. But can this series live on and on in the minds of readers or will it be a title which will die and death without hope of return?

Publisher: Nicholas Stephen Paul Comics
Writer: N.S. Paul, Dan Hill (Editor)
Artist: R. Donald (Artist), N.S. Paul (Letterer)
Price: TBC

Resurrection Men follows James Stone, a widower and single parent who lives a regular life of work and struggling to connect with his son, Jude, in the wake of his wife’s death. However, James finds his world turned upside down when Jude is involved in a car accident before his very eyes. It is then that James, frantic to avoid losing his son as well as his wife, taps into a power he never knew he had. Now, however, James’ world may come crumbling down as his newfound power has drawn the attention of Camael Kreig and his program, who coerce James to join their ranks as part of the ‘Resurrection Men’.

With Resurrection Men, Paul has crafted an enjoyable first part to what feels like a truly intriguing story. While the concept is very much unusual, the world and it’s characters seems to be mostly grounded in a very real world. This feels particularly true with the lead character, who comes across as a very relatable character who is experiencing very real problems. Of course, while the book has a lot of ‘slice of life’ parts to it, when it reaches the fantastical it certainly goes all out. Examples of this come in the form of the villainous Kreig, who really emits a cliched mad scientist vibe, along with some random appearances of a mysterious lady in red who begs the question of whether what is happening is real or a dream. The plot itself feels full of intrigue as it sets up a good number of interesting tidbits for future issues, such as the question of what’s going on in the basement. All of this while the flow moves at a steady, almost leisurely pace.

Meanwhile artist Rory Donald puts in some solid work of his own here as his rough, cracked style which looked so good in Griff Gristle looks equally fitting here. Once again, Donald’s work has a touch of homage towards the Hellboy books, giving hints that this story is more supernatural than superhero, but this time with a slight twist which makes it reminiscent of Paul Grist’s work. Of course, while Donald’s style has a large number of similarities to his prior (a side effect of his unique style against a sea of ‘house’ style in comics), he does make some interesting changes in terms of the colour scheme used, foregoing Griff’s cold blues and greys for something a little more colourful, if still reserved and earthy. The result of this, along with the shadow work which makes a real impact in the cliffhanger ending, is just enough difference to give Resurrection Men a freshness and unique look of it’s own, one which works really well for it.

Resurrection Men is an enjoyable and engrossing comic thanks to its terrific, natural feeling writing and its fantastic, supernatural-esque artwork. While, this isn’t a fast paced title, its slow burn flow will reel readers in, keeping them hooked with the offer of hints as to where the series could be going. While this genre is a dime a dozen for comics on the shelves right now, Resurrection Men offers something slightly different, which may just deserve many a fan’s interest.