The city of Oshawa, Ontario has vanished without a trace. Even worse, nobody remembers it or the 170,000 missing residents that disappeared along with it. As the survivors also fall into the forgotten, they must seek each other out, if they hope to have any chance of surviving in a world where no one believes they exist. The Displaced #1 is a hell of a start with an ominous vibe that builds through the issue and leaves you guessing.
The Displaced #1 is a comic that doesn’t really do much that’s new story wise. But, writer Ed Brisson executes the concept so well, you’ll be sucked in. The concept of people, a city, something vanishing is something that’s been done before. People forgetting about it too has been done before. But, Brisson sets things up in a way with The Displaced #1 that you’re sucked in and want to find out more.
Part of the charm for The Displaced #1 is that it’s a build through the issue. The event that “destroys” Oshawa happens rather quickly, but it comes off more as disaster than some sci-fi mystery. It’s the teasing that happens after, the slow build, that really makes the comic stand out. Brisson has nailed the center of the crossover of sci-fi, horror, and mystery.
It helps too that Brisson peppers the debut issue with characters that many can relate too. Even with the little we know of many of the characters, there’s still something readers can connect with. A tired parent, a son dealing with an ailing parent, assholes from high school, it’s all universal experiences.
The art by Luca Casalanguida is solid. With color by Dee Cunniffe and lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, the comic has a rather mundane, every day, sort of vibe about it. Even the event that impacts the city never feels over the top or distracting. It happens off page, with the focus on the characters and their reaction. Casalanguida and the team also capture a rather dazed aspect about it all. There’s not reactions that are over the top and distract. Like the characters themselves, what they experience is something the readers can relate to easier. There’s a weird calm shock about the visuals that just works.
The Displaced #1 has a great concept about it. It sucks you in and makes you want to find out what’s next for the story. So far, it’s an intriguing mystery that’s set up in a way that leaves a world of possibilities as to what really happened to the town and its people but it’s the characters left that make the comic a must read.
Story: Ed Brisson Art: Luca Casalanguida
Color: Dee Cunniffe Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 9.0 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy
BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – Kindle
Source: Graphic Policy
