The Beauty is a clever and interesting series by Jeremy Haun (story and art) and Jason A. Hurley (also story) who approach a never-ending, consistently relevant social issue in a way that I’ve never seen done before.

The basic premise is that there is a new STD taking the world by storm called beauty. It quite literally infects the person who catches it with our modern-day society’s idea of what beauty is. Perfect skin, perfect body, even the hair! You become a “10.” The twist is, even though it’s an STD, people want it. People go out actively to come down with it.
Though not everyone. There are those against it.

When people infected with beauty begin to burn up from the inside, a pair of detectives are thrown into the middle of a series of conspiracies that assuredly puts their lives in danger. Corporate and political intrigue spin and swirl and, unlike other stories, no one is safe.

In a world in which beauty controls and sex is power, a book like The Beauty is a welcome addition to the annals of social commentary in comic history that began with EC Comics, when they went head first after racial injustices. Not only is The Beauty well told and extremely well drawn, but it rings true. It takes a chisel to a crack in our society and breaks it open while never being heavy handed.