The Ward #1 – Cavan Scott, Andres Ponce, Mauro Mantella, Dark Horse Comics
The Ward #1 is an intense medical drama brimming with fairies, trolls, and real human pathos – think Greys Anatomy meets Hellboy. St. Lilith’s is a secret hospital for supernatural creatures. Obviously. As in most hospitals, the staff are overworked and the facility is underfunded. It’s a place, and a life, that our lead character Dr. Nat Reeves thought she left behind. All it takes is a near dead woman – who happens to have a tail – on her doorstep to ruin all her best laid plans.
Emergency Room
We open with Nat and her neighbour doing their best to revive an unconscious lady in the hallway, but the neighbour, Wilfred, realises something is amiss. Seeing a person with a tail will do that… I’m not going to give big spoilers here, but as the synopsis tells you, the hospital they end up in is less than normal. We get to meet a cast of mythical and legendary creatures, such as a Minotaur with an attitude problem, and a literal ghost.
Writing-wise, Cavan Scott (Star Wars: The High Republic) is on top form in The Ward #1, peppering the narrative with both emotional beats and humour, all of which bring the reader along on the ride with him in a fun and hectic ride. It moves well for the speed, paced nicely to keep you interested in the characters who are bounced in and out of the panels as quickly as you would expect from an accident and emergency department.
Beautiful Danger
Art-wise, Andres Ponce (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) delivers the goods on every level, from the crowd scenes where we get to see the staff and patients at the hospital, through to the personal moments where Nat begins to process her previous trauma. One thing that I particularly appreciate is that all the characters, even those that appear human, are visually distinguishable from one another.
The lettering is also top quality, with Mauro Mantella using a range of fonts and bubbles to distinguish between the many and varied types of character who speak. His use of the space given is also on form, with none of the action or art being impeded by misplaced text, and his sound effects are cracking.
The book gives us several story threads, that may or may not be related, and leaves the reader with plenty of reasons to pick up issue #2, from the engaging characters to the mystery of whodunnit. I’m in for the ride, even if it is in the back of an unusual ambulance.
You can find more from the creative team on Twitter:
Cavan Scott – Writer
Andrew Ponce – Art
Mauro Mantella – Letters
Dark Horse Comics – Publisher
