Whispers #1

Joshua Luna

Whispers is the first solo project from Joshua Luna, one half of the Luna Brothers team who have brought us some memorable comics in the form of Ultra: Seven Days, Girls and The Sword.  As Jonathan Luna's pencils are what we're used to seeing attached to the Luna name in terms of art, it's different seeing Joshua's art style on this title.  But not in a bad way.  Joshua's pencils aren't as sleek and refined as his brother's, but it does have that cinematic storytelling quality that we're used to with their books.  You can really see the writer behind those other books in this title, and Joshua has obviously taken a lot away from working with his brother previously, and as he's done scripting and layouts for books before, you can see the similarities between this and something like Girls.  But this is all Joshua's product, and anybody who has enjoyed The Luna Brother's previous works will like this as well.

The main character we are introduced to in Whispers is Sam, who has obsessive compulsive disorder, and as is revealed during an awkward lunch date with his ex and her friends, has the ability to see other people while he is dreaming.  And he discovers that it's more than just a dream that allows for this, as it happens again later that evening when he finds himself floating intangibly in a ghost-like form while his body rests.  I've always been interested in astral projection, so I think it's cool that this is about that subject.  I also really like the way that Sam tests his abilities, learning how they work.  Like many first issues out there, this is mostly a set-up issue, but we do get a good taste of the type of story we are in for here, with a cool, but flawed main character, great dialogue, and some pretty impressive art for a creator known primarily for his writing skills.