What I like in a comic is humor, action, charismatic, yet flawed, characters, a good story, and art that makes me want to sit down and draw then cry in the corner about how much I suck at drawing.  Aron Warner’s Pariah does this and more. 

Set to debut at San Diego Comic Con 2011, Pariah is a twelve-issue comic series that follows Vitros, genetically-manipulated teens endowed with super-human intelligence.  Issue #1 follows Brent Marks, a known Vitro, desperately trying to live a normal high school life while suffering the slings and arrows of being known as an uber-geek.  But, things go from bad to worse when the Vitro community, en-masse, is blamed for a fatal explosion in a military weapons lab and the subsequent release of a deadly toxin.  Caught up in a global panic, the Vitros become subject to a groundswell of persecution, as they are declared terrorists and hunted down.   

Pariah was written by Philip Gellat and created by Oscar-winning film producer Aron Warner (The Shreks, Tank Girl, Antz), after he read an article on in vitro genetic manipulation.  This Sci-Fi thriller couches lofty questions about humanity’s penchant for unyielding and often unregulated scientific progress and our fear of the unknown within a touching story of a teenage outcast trying to fit in.  And, that’s just in the first issue!

The art of Pariah is beautiful. Brett Weldele (Surrogates) expands on his style using sketchy, soft edges contrasted with bold, hard lines to create a dynamic focus, which helps to move the narrative along in a subtle, yet powerful, way.  The coloring is alive with light and shadow, while the textures he creates have this beautiful, surrealistic quality that reinforces the perspective, which is to say from a hyper-intelligent and insecure teenager.

Definitely look for a release of Pariah #1 at SDCC, if you’re gonna be there, and, if not, I’m sure it will be available at your local comic book retailer.  You won’t wanna miss it!