First launched in 2016, The Beauty at Image Comics is a beautiful look into the superficial world and the extents people will go to in order to be considered good looking.
The downside to ignoring independent comics for most of my comic book life is missing out on the initial release of books such as The Beauty. The upside is the ability to binge read trade paperbacks of the series without having to wait for each month’s release.
Imagine a sexually transmitted disease that makes those infected better looking… a disease people want. That disease is real, and it’s 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.
Created and written by Jeremy Haun (Red Mother, The Approach) and Jason A. Hurley (Olympian Z, The Approach) with illustrations from Haun, The Beauty lasted 29 issues from 2016-2019 with a 48-page oversized finale released in September 2021.
It seems when Haun and Hurley team up on a project, things can’t go wrong. The team writing ability combined with Haun’s artwork are a winning package. The Beauty is evident of this.
A sexually transmitted disease people want instead of fear is such a unique take on the whole idea of an STD. However, it cannot be all good and this is something we find out in the book. This is also an STD which is obvious you have, one day you are normal and the next you are beautiful…all that change was you had sex.
The series beginning years into the outbreak gives a feel of more desperation for its characters. Not focusing on the outbreak and patient zero gives a feeling of The Walking Dead in which the focus is on the people dealing with a world with such a disease and not how it came to be.
Most comic book characters are already illustrated beautifully, this can be hard to visually portray in comic panels, but Haun has given each character with The Beauty a glow that is only visible to us readers.
If you have a horror comic book fan in your circle and are looking for a great gift, The Beauty should definitely be on the list.
Haun joins the Capes and Tights Podcast for Episode 70 to discuss his other book with Hurley, The Approach.
