EUTHANAUTS

As final frontiers go, death is one of the scariest and most mysterious – but in Euthanauts, a new series from IDW’s Black Crown imprint, it’s just an unknown territory that’s waiting for the right explorers.

This offbeat supernatural fantasy focuses on Thalia Peacetree, a receptionist for a funeral home who finds herself pulled into a strange adventure following a near-death experience. Befriended by a group of eccentric researchers, Thalia discovers that she’s a permanent link to a Euthanaut – a dead scientist who’s currently attempting to map the mysteries of the afterlife.

It’s a heady concept executed with considerable style, as writer Tini Howard takes an experimental approach to the narrative and pulls off some dense and engaging storytelling. Admittedly, these first three issues take a little while to build up momentum, but they’re also reminiscent of early Vertigo titles like The Sandman, and the provocative themes and sparky dialogue are matched by Euthanauts’ well-executed art.

Occasionally evocative of the early output of JH Williams III, Nick Robles’s work showcases strong character designs, eye-catching splash pages and some gorgeously psychedelic set-pieces. Robles gives this bold fantasy a unique visual flavour; this, combined with Howard’s already intriguing scripts, means Euthanauts is off to an impressive and mindbending start. Saxon Bullock