Archaia Days Missing #1 review

Days Missing

Days Missing #1 just hit the comic book stands yesterday and this five issue story is one you don’t want to miss.

Summary:

Since the dawn of time, a being has existed whose interaction and interference with mankind has shaped human history. His powers of time and intellect have allowed him to secretly remove certain critical days from the historical record. Their stories have never been told. Their details have never been documented. Their existence is not remembered. But the occurrences of these days have forever changed the course of humanity’s evolution. These are the DAYS MISSING from our existence, and they are about to be revealed…

In the premiere issue, a deadly new virus threatens to herald an extinction level event if The Steward can’t find a cure for scientists to discover…the day before. From Archaia and Roddenberry Productions, the people behind STAR TREK, comes a new science-fiction mini-series that explores a new frontier.

Why you want to pick this up:
In this five issue mini-series, writer Phil Hester takes a concept from Roddenberry Productions and brings it to life. The mysterious man we meet in issue one is only known as “The Steward”. We learn in the first issue that he has the ability to “fold” days of time to remove days that would change the future of mankind forever. In this case it’s possible extinction by a plague-type disease.

We learn about “The Steward” in the first issue through an outbreak that is happening in Africa. The Swazi fever is spreading quickly infecting 95% of the population. The UN have doctor’s there to try and find a solution but basically to make sure the Swazi fever stays in Africa.

We don’t get details as to what he is, but we do get details along the way as to what he’s done in the past. We don’t know his motivation for continuing to do this other than he seems to believe in humans and genuinely want to help. We also get the sense that he’s been doing this for awhile and has intervened more than we may ever know.

Not all the future issues will deal with plagues. The next issue picture hints to a Frankenstein-like creature for the story. The art work in the issue, done by artist Frazer Irving (forthcoming Batman and Robin arc, Seven Soldiers of Victory), displays a dark overtone for the seriousness of the situation. I’m not crazy about the handwritten, cursive that is throughout the issue. Many times I had to re-read a section just to make sure I read it correctly. Hopefully this is something that will change based on the issue, but if it’s not, it’s still not a deal breaker. The story is definitely intriguing enough to give it a shot. We’ve all had days that we wish we could do over. Watching “The Steward” have the power to change history but needing our cooperation is an interesting look at what can be the best and worst of humanity.

Days Missing #1
Publisher: Archaia Comics
Writer: Phil Hester
Artist: Frazer Irving
Covers: Dale Keown, Frazer Irving, Phil Hester
On Stands Now

Here are a few pages of Days Missing #1: