During a good week of comics, The Occultist #1 has been chosen as my Pick of the Week! This is the type of week that keeps me going in the comic book industry. After some lackluster weeks in the past few months, it was nice to have a week where I had to think long and hard about which title should come out on top.
The Occultist #1 is my Pick of the Week!
The Others
Fantomex MAX #1 was a great start to the mini which looks at an under-appreciated, and Lazarus #4 continued to remind me why the series is one of my favorites. All New X-Men #17 gave some great new twists on the Battle of the Atom series and has me looking forward to the next chapter. Detective Comics #24 and Batman Black & White were both strong. So many more I could mention (almost a dozen), but let’s get on with The Occultist #1.
Who is on The Occultist #1?
The series is the brainchild of Mike Richardson. Mike worked with Tim Seeley to write the series with art by Mike Norton. You know that something good is going to come of a series when the creators of Revival are involved. Don’t forget that you will have the chance to meet Tim Seeley in the opcoming weeks at Detroit Fanfare Comic Con!
The Story
One of the aspects that I really liked about The Occultist #1 was that the story started in the middle. We do not have a premiere issue with an origin story. We are thrown into the action in the opening scene and we are forced to figure things out as we go along. It is nice to see a premiere issue veer from the norm. I could tell you what happens in the story, but that would give away spoilers (which you know I am against).
The Main Character
Rob Bailey is the main character of the story. All we know for sure is that he can wield the power of an occult book called The Sword. This awkward college student was chosen by the book to control it. We don’t know exactly how he found the book, the limits of his powers, or what his powers actually are. These are mysteries to be left for other issues in the five-part series. I have been looking forward to The Occultist #1 for a few months and am happy I only have to wait a short time for The Occultist #2 to hit to have some of these questions answered.
In All Honesty
I have always had a soft spot for horror comics and comics dealing with sorcery. The Phantom Stranger, Doctor Strange, and Constantine are among my favorite characters. The Occultist could be likened to one of these characters if they had gained their powers in college before the occult realm tainted them and made them into darker characters. The twist automatically moved this title up the ladder before I even read it. Of course, the story and art moved it up the rest of the way.
Hooray for Dark Horse!
I have spoken for a long time about how Dark Horse has to make sure it can crawl out of the shadow of the Star Wars series and deal with the concern that the potential loss of the series to Marvel could hurt the #5 comics publisher. If Dark Horse can get strong series, it will not have a problem if it loses Star Wars. The Occultist #1 is another step in the right direction.
