Jeremy Haun

Bravo, sirs. Really though, kudos. I never thought that I'd be able to say that I was intrigued by an STD, but Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley have accomplished that for me. When we think of STDs, we think of them as things we don't want to contract. They are uncomfortable, embarrassing, and often terrifying in the way that they manifest themselves. In the world of The Beauty, that's all changed. What if you could contract and STD that would make you flawless? Perfect skin, perfect hair, no show more known side effects. If Haun and Hurley are right, that would spread like wildfire.

Oh, this was so good. The first volume of The Beauty does an amazing job of pulling you right into the middle of the story, but leaving a few loose ends dangling out there to keep you reading. I found myself caught up in a mystery. Remember when I said that this disease had "no known side-effects"? Well, they make themselves known fairly soon after you start reading this story, and they aren't pretty. While I could have used a little more background on our main characters, I liked them so much that it didn't make a difference after a few pages. I have a feeling more we'll get to know them better very, very soon.

This entire storyline is honestly brilliant though. It spotlights our obsession with fads, with beauty, and with being part of the masses. On the flip side, it also spotlights the terrible things that go on behind the scenes. Like big business having the opportunity to help people, and withholding it for profit. We all suspect that goes on, but Haun actually shows it close up. He takes these normal people, who never even wanted the "gift" they were given, and their struggle to just lead semi-normal lives. Add in an art style that is gorgeous, and an absolutely perfect addition to this story, and you have a series that I'm firmly in love with.

I'm glad I waited for the first trade paperback to come out. I don't know if my heart would have survived single issues. I can tell you right now though, I'm in for the duration of The Beauty. It has hooked me, and I'm completely okay with that. show less

The Red Mother Volume 1 is a fantastic comic psychological horror story by Jeremy Haun. In Volume 1 Daisy McDonough loses one eye and the man she loves in a brutal mugging. As she tries to put the pieces of her life back together, Daisy gets a glass eye to match the other. Just when she begins to think she can move on, she begins to see strange things through her new prosthetic eye. Daisy sees everything in red in the prosthetic eye. Her doctor says she has Charles Bonnet Syndrome. Charles show more Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) is a condition that causes vivid, complex visual hallucinations in people who have lost significant vision, where the brain creates images to fill the visual void, similar to phantom limb pain.

Daisy is a puzzle designer but she hasn't worked in months because of the accident. She receives a puzzle in the shape of a heart by delivery and easily solves the puzzle. The name and phone number in the puzzle refers her to Leland Black. After meeting him Daisy has another red hallucination. Something strange then happened. She was asked by a passerby if she had seen the red mother. This is where the story ended. I wish I had picked up the next Volume because this cliff hanger was intense. show less

I really enjoyed this collection of short horror/sci-fi vignettes, all penned and illustrated by Jeremy Haun during the height of the Covid pandemic. I think if I just started these stories blindly I would have been less infatuated - most of glimpses of scenes in-medias-res rather than complete/coherent narratives. However after reading the foreword by Nathan Ballingrud and the introduction by Haun himself, I gained a greater appreciation for Haun's headspace when he was creating these works show more and what he was trying to achieve. Most of glimpses of larger stories where we dip in briefly in their third act or climactic moment, which is an intriguing way to structure an anthology. They still don't all land for me, but the majority are compelling. I appreciated too how Haun is able to fit moments of humor and true hard-hitting emotion into just a few pages. show less

Wonderfully innovative concept for a new comic series. Everyone is obsessed with beauty. So much so, that when an STD that makes the infected shed weight, grow cheek-bones, smooth complexions, and turn all the infected into beautiful supermodels, everyone wants to get it. Within a year 200 million Americans are infected with the beauty. Groups are against it, groups are for it, and a special government group has been created to try and stem the flow of transmission and to keep an overall eye show more on the infected beauties. Suddenly, without warning, the beauties start internally combusting. The government tries to keep it hush hush, but it's only matter of time before it gets leaked. What can the beauty squad do to help everyone? And what will happen if they too get infected? Dark, beautifully illustrated, and creative, this was an amazing beginning and I can't wait to keep up with the series. show less