Heartbeat #1 is published by BOOM! Studios. The story and art are both done by Maria Llovet.
Heartbeat #1 does not waste any time jumping into this macabre world Eva lives in. In a lot of ways, Eva is a stereotypical character we’ve seen before: she’s an outcast, she got into a rich school because her mother is a maid for a rich family and she’s bullied because of it, her mother does her best to make ends meet leaving Eva to carry her burden in silence – we have seen this girl many times, and we’ve seen her overcome the adversity, make friends, become prom queen, and get the popular guy.
But Eva’s story is different, because meeting the popular guy is going to take her down a much more sinister path. Eva discovers Donatien has a secret, he enjoys the taste of blood and is willing to kill to get it. However, this new information only makes Eva more intrigued. After all, her life is already hell, she might as well dive deeper in to it.
I have been following Maria Llovet since reading, Faithless, so I have been pumped for this book to come out. Her art is gorgeous, edgy, probably the best word I can use to describe it is, gothic. There’s something so instantly dark and eerie about it, you immediately feel like something is off in Eva’s world. She has a distinct style that isn’t very common in Western comics, it’s a much more Eastern art style. Plus, Eva starts off wearing an eye patch (in a very manga/anime fashion) which makes her resemble one of my favorite anime characters, Mei Misaki, and that immediately makes me love her.
This is an excellent kick off issue. The eerie setting has been established, there are clear main characters and the plot is super creepy and intriguing. It’s definitely not for those looking for something light to read, it’s going to be a heavy series that has already set itself up to cover so many deep topics like bullying, abuse, depression, and death. I’m really looking forward to the next issue.
OVERALL SCORE: 9 / 10
Make sure to pick up a copy of Heartbeat #1 from your local comic shop!
Happy reading!
