SinEater #1 is curiously good.
The premise is very simple: Set in an era in which witch burning was a thing to do, a young woman, Cassandra, has the ability to suck demons out of people, but when she realizes she has a demon inside of herself too, she realizes she has to go on the run.
Jojo King and Chase Dunham tell a visual story that really flows; as a team, it is their strength. The panel pacing is embedded with humor, sadness, and excitement. The first instance in which we see her do her work brought upon genuine laughter followed by real empathy for our hero. The story flows naturally out of the situation in these moments, which includes the exposition.
Other times, when the exposition is merely dialogue driven, it can be a little on the nose. When this happens, the panel-to-panel storytelling gets a little bumpy; Cassandra is happy in one panel, and in the next she’s weeping and cursing her ability.
Cassandra, for all the good she does, isn’t well liked. As a reader, this puts us on her side almost immediately. She’s looked down upon, even feared for helping people at their request.
Let’s talk about Dunham’s artwork. It reminded me of Jeff Smith’s look for Bone to a degree or something you might see on Cartoon Network, like with anything Gendy Tartakovsky does. There’s something about it that makes it appealing in a hyper-realized, childlike way.
More than anything, it sets up what could be a promising adventure for Cassandra, dealing with something destructive inside her and with the rest of the world, good and bad.