On the brink of a global pandemic, a leading cancer researcher must continue to search for a cure to the illness, even after his wife has died from it. Minor Spoilers for The Clock #1 follow.
On its basic premise alone, The Clock feels like an ambitious tale that is going somewhere new with the global pandemic idea. It’s rare to see a story handle the lead-up to it, rather than taking place after global devastation occurs. And, for the most part, The Clock #1 is a solid first issue that acts as a decent set-up to the eventual apocalypse. Matt Hawkins and Colleen Doran play it relatively safe in this first, but that’s for the best.
What this issue does extremely well is its set-up. The story that The Clock is telling is easily something that could become quickly overcome by exposition, but it never does. There’s only one exposition dump scene and it’s done relatively organically into the story. But the rest of the needed exposition comes in quick, one-off lines and established relationships. There’s nothing along the lines of “This is Character A. This is Character B. Etc.” which is nice. Hawkins and Doran throw you right into the middle of the story which is an attempt at forcing you to be engaged as a reader. Sometimes, this doesn’t work and a story immediately loses you. Here though, it works incredibly well as it creates a sense of mystery and a curiosity as to what is actually happening. This, in turn, helps build incredibly well to a fantastic final two panels.
The problems that this issue has, narratively, falls in line with the set-up though, or the lack of it. Some events that occur in this just happen with no warning that it’s about to happen. There’s no proper build, or even mention, that what’s happening is a possibility. This creates a confusing wrench into an otherwise solid narrative that is weighed down by these sudden occurrences. This is only accentuated as they are bookended by sudden and lacking transitions.
On top of the relatively solid narrative though is Colleen Doran’s excellent art. I’ve been a fan of hers ever since I first read The Sandman and she continues to show why she’s a fantastic artist. So much of her work in this issue is incredibly understated and that’s why it works so well. This is not supposed to be an over-the-top action comic, but much more down to earth, which she nails. Everything about her art feels like it could be happening right now, which is exactly what the story is going for. Probably my favorite two pages of this issue and the splash pages just showing people going about their days in awful places. The way that she composes these pages are excellent and very pleasing to follow because of their simplicity in style, but importance to the story.
On a more technical level though, her linework is great in showing the realism that this issue is intending. Her style is still very much evident, but is done in such a way that almost makes you feel like a fly on the wall as a reader. And her inks are great as well in that they convey the tone of the story in a natural fashion. There’s almost a noir feel at some points which is perfect for the tone of the story.