Hexagon Bridge #1 Review: Intriguing Sci-Fi from a Rising Comics Star

Richard Blake shines in the opening issue of Hexagon Bridge, a new five-issue miniseries published by Image Comics that should help establish the writer and artist as a new star in the direct market comics scene. Set in the distant future involving a dangerous exploration of a parallel universe, Blake leans into his strengths as a fantastic landscape and setting artist, providing a stunning visuals of worlds that seem frighteningly similar but also extraordinarily strange and different. The result is not only one of the better comics of 2023, but also one of the strongest Image Comics debuts published in the last decade. 

Blake quickly establishes the world and stakes of Hexagon Bridge in its opening page. In the distant future of 4040, scientists discover a parallel universe and begin exploring it. After several successful probes by drones, two scientists are sent into this parallel world, but are quickly confronted by what appears to be the world's sole living resident. Meanwhile, the scientists' daughter alerts their colleagues of the danger thanks to clairvoyant visions, and the scientists opt to send in an AI entity to retrieve their missing colleagues. 

The first thing that struck me about Hexagon Bridge was its impressively minimalist approach to establishing its world. Too often, science fiction opts to dump a lot of establishing exposition into the world, explaining all of the little nuances of the world either through bulky dialogue or even bulkier narration or exposition. Everything that we need to know about the world of Hexagon Bridge is explained in the first page of the series, leaving the remaining pages to tell a story and draw readers into its world. Blake wisely chooses not to linger on any one particular bit of the setting (outside of perhaps the very immediate danger Jacob and Elena find themselves in), and instead lets his artwork do the heavy lifting on what is and isn't extraordinary about this universe. 

Of course, it's the artwork that's truly a standout in Hexagon Bridge. From the strange degradation of the parallel universe to the fantastic contrast of the Alaskan wilderness with the monolithic scientific outpost, the world of Hexagon Bridge is gorgeous to look at. Because so much of the book is spent with characters traveling through weird landscapes, the beauty of Hexagon Bridge comes in getting to absorb the landscapes from a distance. There's so much detail and technical skill involved in almost every single panel of the comic, but in a way that's not too fixated upon those details. To be blunt, the art in Hexagon Bridge #1 is superior to so much of what is put on a comics shelf on a monthly basis; it really puts the comics who treat art as nothing more than a vehicle for telling a story to shame. 

My only real criticism of Hexagon Bridge is that it read too quickly. The comic seemed to just be getting started when it ends on a melancholic story beat rather than any sort of cliffhanger or hook for the next installment. Perhaps a stronger ending was unnecessary because the art and vibe of the comic book ensured that I'd be coming back for the next issue anyway, but many monthly readers are accustomed to a stronger hook and I feel like they might be a bit let down by this soft ending. 

Hexagon Bridge #1 is one of the strongest debut issues published by Image Comics or any other DM publisher in recent memory. It's a throwback to Image's golden era, when creators like Jonathan Hickman and Matt Fraction and Fiona Staples were dominating the comics scene with their Image titles. Not only is Hexagon Bridge #1 an easy contender for awards next year, it firmly puts Blake on the map as a spectacular storyteller and artist that every publisher should be chasing after for years to come. 

Published by Image Comics 

On September 13, 2023

Created by Richard Blake