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The Sickness #1

Written by: Jenna Cha & Lonnie Nadler
Art and Covers by: Jenna Cha
Lettering by: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Published by: Uncivilized Comics

Copy Provided for Advance Review

“They always say “no sense trying to change the past”. But at the same time they say history repeats itself.

Well. Which is it?”

Some of the biggest names in horror comics fiction bet on themselves, and it pays out big in the debut of The Sickness – a new sixteen-issue series from indie comic imprint Uncivilized Comics. Conceived and constructed by writer/artists Jenna Cha and Lonnie Nadler, this new series cuts to the quick of historical horror while also cutting out the middleman in terms of distribution. Operating on a direct-to-consumer model, standing available to readers directly via the Uncivilized Comics website and by direct order at your local shop, releasing on general shelves on June 14th.

And believe me, when I tell you, it is absolutely worth your time and attention. Especially if you are looking for something to really, really fuck you up. Or, at the very least, get under your skin in ways most horror comics can’t or won’t.

Graced with a pulpy verbosity (given vibrantly unsettling life by master letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou), ghoulishly beautiful artwork, and a rich period setting, The Sickness #1 is the total package. Both as a hugely unsettling piece of real-life history and a daringly teasing slice of what this series offers. In a period now when horror comics, barring a few exceptions, are too bland or too forgettable, The Sickness #1 stands apart by being wholly itself. And frankly, that scares the shit out of me in the best possible way.

We open in Stillwater, Minnesota. The year is 1945. Young Daniel Buss is a typical “red-blooded” American teenager living in the waning days of World War II. He bullshits with his friends and tries to hook up with local girls, but he’s harboring a rapidly growing secret. He is seeing things that aren’t there. Yawning Cronenbergian holes in streets, vacantly smiling women in windows, and The Man. A blank-faced, constantly following presence that is starting to haunt his waking hours.

Meanwhile, ten years later, we travel to Lakewood, Colorado. In the shadow of the murder of Emmett Till, former GI and assistant county medical examiner Dr. George Brooks inches toward retirement. When a local housewife seemingly goes insane from a case of “tired blood”, slaying her entire family to save her young son, Brooks is pulled into the strange, seemingly impossible facts of the case. This brings him closer and closer to the holes in the skin of reality that young Daniel was tortured with.

Where The Man stands his vigil still.

Immediately, from the very first page, Cha and Nadler aim to unsettle the reader. Rendered in Cha’s classic, almost tin-type-esque art style, the tone is set instantly. Further, we are given enough detail into Daniel’s life to know something is wrong. But no real clues as to what. At least, not yet anyway. Save for some more weaponized visual shocks and roiling dread from the script.

Therein lies the real strength of The Sickness #1. While other comics (especially with first issues) might over-explain things, Cha and Nadler keep the reader slightly at arm’s length from the plot — focusing instead on the interior lives of our leads, Daniel and George.

Providing too even more texture to their horror thanks to the time periods. Daniel is a young man in a “victorious” country, finding out that victory doesn’t mean shit if you are losing your mind. While Charles is an older Black man, finally having achieved his goals, only to have those goals made largely pointless thanks to the constant spectre of racially-fueled acts of violence and biases. It’s almost as if the “supernatural” elements of this story are incidental. The real horror lurks in history all along. And to their credit, Nadler and Cha absolutely lean into this. To the issue’s benefit.

But at the same time, The Sickness #1 comes complete with plenty else as well. Namely, it’s keenly striking body horror and J-Horror-like tonality to the artwork. Just a casual glance at the portfolio of Jenna Cha can tell you she’s got the goods, but seeing that pen turned toward sequential artwork is just a goddamn marvel. From the opening decompressed introduction to Daniel to the impeccably blocked reveal of Brooks’ 50’s Good Housekeeping crime scene, Cha’s interiors are constantly engaging and chock full of small, really striking details that keep you pouring over the pages just to see what else you might have missed.

All in service to a script and series that seems to be aiming higher than cheap shocks and gory displays of empty violence.

Basically, as this review’s title suggests, The Sickness #1 is the real deal. A confidently constructed and ambitiously creepy debut armed with talented creatives behind it that can back up that confidence and ambition. All while delivering something that can and will get under your skin. Even if you might not want it to.

The Sickness #1 Covers A-E are available for pre-order now via Uncivilized Comics and releases June 20th.