A few weeks ago I previewed the latest from BOOM! Studios. You might remember it from the length of the title alone – We Only Find Them When We Are Dead. Well this week the first issue of the incredibly long title drops. it takes a week to read the title. Is it worth the time to read the rest of the book? Let’s take a look at We Only Find Them When We Are Dead 1.

We Only Find Them When We Are Dead 1 – COver2Cover

I keep talking about the immensity of the title, well the main cover demonstrates this well. The entire cover is nothing but the title from top to bottom. They do a good job making it look like something out of Star Wars or some other epic space odyssey, and they add the captains face to the letters. It does have a nice quality to it even though it is so simple. The other cover variants are pretty sweet. One is an artistic bust of a character and the third exhibits the art of the pages within. The final cover beautifully wraps around the entire book and makes a nice tease of the story within.

The artwork for this title looks wonderful! To call it anime or Manga style would not be right, but it has that feel to it. The closest comparison I can come up with belongs to Netflix. If you watch the new Voltron or Dragon Prince, the pages in this title remind me a lot of the animation and coloring from those shows. It’s crisp, sharp and rich. One color seems to dominate each panel with the other colors picked more to complement or contrast the base color used. They style comes across very well.

We Only Find Them When We Are Dead 1 – What About the Dead?

I am going to start with something that most time comes across as a negative for comic issues, but that is not quite the case here. If i had one complaint for the creators, it would be the numbering of this issue. This issue does not read like a #1. It reads like a 0 issue, that issue that sits apart but sets up the stories to come. WOFTWWAD 1 reads a lot like a 0 issue because it essentially reads as an exposition issue. Normally that means the issue is boring, wordy and spends the entire time setting up the action in future issues. Batman 96, part 2 of the Joker War story demonstrates this beautifully. It TOLD a story setting up the incredible action in the following issues.

HOWEVER! In this case the exact opposite is true, In issue #1 there is little action, and all of it sets up the stories to come by introducing the crew, the world and its mechanics. The reason this does not hinder this issue is because WOFTWWAD SHOWS the exposition! There are no lengthy descriptions or dialogues. Instead the creators of this title show you the world and how everything works. They introduce the four man crew we will follow and then shows their routine. You can feel the routine they follow as if it were a submarine crew. In the process we learn all about the dead gods that feature so strongly in this world. The way they tell you the story keeps you from thinking about what action and things are not happening and instead focused on where the crew and future issues will be going.

We Only Find Them When We Are Dead 1 – Final Thoughts

I really love this issue and while there is little action the crew and world are set up so wonderfully i can’t wait for future issues to see where things go. The artwork is stunning and sharp. This feels like a title that will not rush through facts and story. It will take its time and thoroughly develop what it does and where it goes. We Only Find Them When We Are Dead promises a vibrant and quality journey ahead.