REVIEW: 'Heart Eyes' #1 by Dennis Hopeless, Victor Ibanez, and Addison Duke

 

HEART EYES #1

Writer: Dennis Hopeless

Artist: Victor Ibanez, Addison Duke

Letters: Simon Bowland

Publisher: Vault Comics

Release Date: August 17, 2022

Cover Price: $4.99

Sanity-eating monsters ended humanity. The unlucky few who survived now hide in the cracks of a broken world. And yet somehow, beneath the graveyard that used to be San Antonio, Rico met Lupe, the girl of his dreams. But how did she get here? And why is she smiling? No one survives out in the street. No one smiles where the monsters lurk.

Score: 

★★★★1/2 (4.5/5)

'Heart Eyes' is an intriguing and enjoyable new series from Dennis Hopeless, Victor Ibanez, and Addison Duke. It's a post-apocalyptic story that purports the end of human society was not brought on by an expected nuclear war or climate catastrophe but instead was merely destroyed by giant monsters. With survivors terrified and living underground, one girl, Lupe, seems unaffected as she wanders the desolate remains of the city until she comes across a young man and his family. 

There's no shortage of comics that have tackled a post-apocalyptic existence but they don't always look this good. Ibanez's designs and attention to detail are astounding. Sure, the monsters look like giant squid-like creatures with dangerous tentacles. That's to be expected but much time is spent on every scene from a downtown in ruins to a claustrophobic underground tunnel to the flashbacks are simply intense. And going back to the monsters, you won't a menagerie of creatures better illustrated than the ones here. Duke's colors set the mood. There's kind of a sepia tone given to the world as though the atmosphere is contaminated. There's a certain color palette that's full of brown, yellow, and green. It's a dour situation and Duke pulls readers in the wallow of it all. 

The most compelling conflict in most dystopian stories is among the people and not so much the monsters that lurk in the dark. For Lupe, after being "saved" off the street by the young Rico, his family is understandably skeptical and distrustful of her entering their sanctuary. Lupe will have to prove to them that she's not a threat and ultimately, she'll show just how in tune she is with the new world. Her perspective is what makes this story of destruction and fear less frightening and the world created by Hopeless, into one of hope. 

'Heart Eyes' is a wonderful new post-apocalyptic story full of engaging characters and eye-popping visuals. The monster designs are enormous and highly detailed which lends authenticity to the destruction they're capable of. It's also the juxtaposition of one human's understanding, small, trusting, and fearless amid the hysteria. Hopeless and Ibanez make an intoxicating blend of dystopia, sci-fi horror, and human drama.