The Ward #1 Review: Monster Hospital Shines When Its Sick Beasts Are Front and Center

The "Hospital comic but for X-Thing" subgenre only has a few titles underneath its banner (see ET-ER from AWA or Code Pru by Garth Ennis & Raulo Caceres) but already it seems like the tread on the tires is beginning to wear out. Dark Horse debuts The Ward this week from writer Cavan Scott, artist Andres Ponce, and letterer Mauro Mantella, a series that puts monsters, ghosts, and goblins at the forefront of a hospital.

The Ward's story structure takes some getting used to, as Scott loads the page with text boxes on top of text boxes, some that don't enhance the visual storytelling that accompanies them. Central to the comic however is Natalie Reeves, whose neighbor discovers an injured woman outside her apartment, but she's no ordinary person and she's in need of help from no ordinary hospital. The series only has so much real estate to introduce its premise and lead characters and doesn't always use it effectively before sending all of its horses off to the races. Natalie Reeves has a haphazard introduction that largely feels forgotten by the end of the issue, especially since the actual medical portion of the plot is more interesting on the whole, and seems to be where Scott has hit the heart as a writer.

Where The Ward really excels is its plotting, fitting largely into a procedural style narrative. The first issue has a lot to bring to the table and sometimes falls under its own weight because it's introducing so much all at once. Once the central mystery of its two lead patients becomes clear, along with the reveal of their connectivity, does the vibe of the comic and its intentions going forward become clear.

Ponce's artwork for the most part is the highlight of the series, filling the panels with images that have a major spark of imagination and dynamic action. The unique design for the characters and monsters is top-notch though, for every expected monster like a Minotaur you get something like the faceless Dr. Kumasaka. Even the monsters you expect to get have a unique flair to them, further proof that this series has figured out a lot about itself already. There are instances however of....off facial expressions, which wouldn't be so noticeable if they weren't the focal point of an image, which makes the art less than perfect at times. In addition, moments that look like off-layering, perhaps a result of flat coloring in some panels, stand out as odd. 

Ponce's work is the standout here as the "Hospital comic but for X-Thing" as a hook is largely as interesting as the patients that inhabit it. Scott has carefully crafted a plethora of doctors to treat them naturally, and they are a unique lot of characters, but the guy with a pumpkin head, the dragon, and the Big Eye Ball guy are going to the draws for this debut issue. Ponce manages to give them all the kind of "I want to know more about them" energy that created the best background characters in Star Wars.

The Ward is proof that this specific subgenre of fiction is ripe for telling across mediums, but also that there should be an angle of distinction that separates it from the rest. Certainly, by the time it has gotten the chance to stretch its legs and let its characters breathe there will be the mark of something unique for readers, but as it stands now the big draw has to be the weird creatures and beasts that are in need of bandages and surgery, and that's thanks to artist Andres Ponce's unique stylizations.

Published by Dark Horse Comics

On June 8, 2022

Written by Cavan Scott

Art by Andres Ponce

Colors by Andres Ponce

Letters by Mauro Mantella