The Beauty Vol. 1

By Jeremy Haun

Imagine a sexually transmitted disease that makes those infected better looking... a disease people want. That disease is real, and itÍs called the Beauty. Two years after the Beauty burst onto the scene, over half of America is infected. Now, it looks like the downside may be far worse than anyone suspected. Detectives Vaughn and Foster find themselves on the front line of the battle against the Beauty, embroiled in a conspiracy they never knew existed. Collects THE BEAUTY #1-6.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Image Comics, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781632158420

Book preview

Reviews for The Beauty Vol. 1

[unsquare_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Originally published at Full of Words. Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley.

The Beauty Volume 1 has one cool idea and not much else: there is a new sexually transmitted disease that makes you beautiful. If you contract it, you become young, thin and pretty within minutes. The only apparent side effect is a constant low-level fever, so people go out of their way to get infected. It isn’t long before half the population has The Beauty.

There are factions who object to The Beauty for political and religious reasons, but the real problem is that people with The Beauty are starting to spontaneously combust and nobody knows why. When a woman combusts in public, two police detectives (one of them infected) try to find an explanation. They face opposition from government officials trying to cover it up and a shady pharmaceutical CEO who just wants to make a profit. The story turns into a by-the-numbers conspiracy thriller/mystery after only a few pages.

One of my biggest problems with The Beauty is that I didn’t care about the main characters at all. They are generic pretty people who only want to Solve The Crime And Stop The Conspiracy. Neither of them has an identifiable personality and their dialog is basically interchangeable.

The villains get slightly more characterization and/or back story, if only because we see them doing things that aren’t necessarily related to the case at hand. That doesn’t mean their motivations are clear, however.

One villain wears a skull mask and eviscerates his victims to show that he’s obviously a very bad dude, but his appearances in the story are all gore and no tension because his actions feel utterly impersonal.

When I finished reading this volume, I had to check to find out if it was a mini-series or an ongoing title. It felt like a complete (if underdeveloped) story, so I wanted to know if my instincts were correct. It turns out that it is an ongoing series even though the sixth issue wraps up a lot of threads and ends with a note of finality.

One thing I did like about The Beauty was the art. It has a clean, realistic style that emphasizes the absurd horror of spontaneous combustions. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t give the art much to work with, so the book feels slight and generic.

After reading so many disappointing comics with boilerplate stories and undeveloped characters, it’s starting to feel like a problem with the medium. There are exceptional writers like Matt Fraction, Chip Zdarsky and Brian K. Vaughan working in comics, but the ability to fully develop a character in a few panels seems like a rare talent.

Unfortunately, The Beauty doesn’t deliver on the clever idea at its core because the characters are personality-free and generic.

[glennis.leblanc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Beauty, a new sexually transmitted disease that makes the sufferer more attractive in several ways. With a low grade fever as the only side effect of it, many people sought out the infection and soon almost half the population had it. But Beauty does come with a hidden price that is soon going to become very public. The story starts with the apparent murder of a beauty sufferer on the subway but quickly devolves into more of a giant conspiracy with big pharma and the government. The book was interesting enough and had sorta of X Files feel to it with the two cops going against the big guys and they had help from a small group of people trying to cure the disease. By the end of this collection you know who most of the players are in this battle but the war is far from over.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

[roxiet-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Stumbled on this series by accident and was intrigued by the premise of the story--a random STD that makes people beautiful. Can't wait to see how the story plays out.

[roses7184_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[trile1000 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really like the concept behind The Beauty. An STD that increases your metabolism and makes you gorgeous? Why wouldn't you want that? What are the hidden repercussions? It's a fantastic idea! I enjoyed the artwork and thought it was well-done and appropriate. I thought it was a nice touch to have the Beauty-infected characters have a brighter, orange tinge.

However, I'm not sure I like the story yet, but I'm willing to continue with it for now. Wait and see for a series, but worth a glimpse.

[bravenewbks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars

Art: 3.5 stars. Clear, with some lovely long lines, but occasionally too scratchy for my taste. Could tell by looking who was infected with The Beauty and who wasn't. Arrangement of panels ok but not particularly special.

Concept: 5 stars. An STD that boosts your metabolism (thereby making you slimmer & more attractive) probably would become trendy, at least in certain parts of the country.

Execution: 3.5 stars. Love the hero cops who figure things out and try to speak truth to power. However, the weird mask-wearing serial killer hit man character felt like a Batman villain, just a little too creepy-crazy for this mostly realistic world.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[pomo58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Beauty Volume 1 collects the first six issues of the serial into one volume. As such this has a cliffhanger and will leave you wanting to read the following issues. The Beauty is an STD which makes people beautiful but has a serious side effect. The plot centers around a cure and making a cure available. The story is actually very interesting and the artwork complements the straightforward plot. This is less about surprises, at least through these issues, and more about an exciting and quick-moving plot.Many graphic novels are best told with the artwork because the storyline is less compelling. That is not the case with this work, the story is good, so I would recommend to both graphic novel lovers as well as thriller lovers.Reviewed from an ARC made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[msf59 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There is a new fast-spreading, STD, in town and it is a doozy. It is called Beauty and it will make it's victim beautiful. Doesn't sound too bad, does it? Not so fast. Suddenly, the disease is killing people, (with internal combustion) and it is up to a pair of detectives, to find a cure and since both of them also have the “Beauty”, they better get crackin'.This one is a lot of fun. It is fast-paced and fresh but also very violent. The artwork is excellent too.

[rivkat_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A new sexually transmitted disease makes people beautiful, and two years after it’s identified, half the world has it. Now it’s started to kill people, and only two New York City detectives can stop it—one previously infected without her knowledge, and the other happily married, and just turned Beautiful. Nudity, exploding heads, evil pharmaceutical companies—your basic horror comic.