Cassandra Jurich is about to lose her job, be accused of murder and become Los Angeles’ first masked vigilante – she just doesn’t know it yet. In this gripping and gritty tale from Womanthology artist Candace Ellis and Transformers Prime writer Mairghread Scott, we follow an average EMT who discovers that she has powers beyond what normal humans can believe and that someone is trying to kill her for it.
But Cassie isn’t the only one with powers and she’ll have to survive LA’s most ruthless narco-trafficker, the deadliest assassin on the West Coast and the man pulling all the strings if she wants any answers.
Confession time: as a kid, I was absolutely hooked on the show ER. It made me want to be that kind of doctor, despite having read the memo that no profession is as glamorous as it seems on TV. It was much the same with other shows featuring paramedics and ER staff (Third Watch, anyone?) and continued far later than it should have.
All of this is a long-winded way of saying that Triage managed to tap into the part of myself that likes to contemplate what my life would’ve been like had I actually managed to go down that path. The reason why I like this comic isn’t because it plays into some strange, nostalgia factor I have, but rather I happen to like this comic and it plays into some nostalgia factor I have. The first issue gives insight into what makes Cassie tick, shows us what she’s like on the job before anything out of the ordinary even happens. Origin stories are tricky, especially when they are dealing with a character that the audience is unfamiliar with. I didn’t have trouble grasping what sort of person Cassie was before anything strange really started to happen. It always wows me when I can get a concrete impression of a character within a few frames.
The writing is understated, with Cassie’s narration never feeling out of place. There was a definite balance between the art and the writing, with both working in very complementary ways. Let me gush about the art for a moment. While I am a fan of prettily colored things, having the comic be in black and white with only spot coloring really worked for me. There were a few frames that curled my stomach, even without coloring, but the simple style really worked for it.
The Triage is a story of an everywoman who gets taken out of her ordinary life and becomes something extraordinary. It’s just getting started, but I like it already. I have a lot of questions that I am dying to have answered (who was the ninja-like girl and what did she want?), which is always a good sign. I know that I’ll definitely be looking to see where this goes and I suggest that you do the same.
Check out Triage and other comics at WE Comics (because fledgling publishers needs all the love).
