The War #1 Review

 

Writer: Garth Ennis

Artist: Becky Cloonan

Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain

Letterer: Pat Brosseau

Cover Artists: Becky Cloonan, Jay Shaw, Trevor Hairsine with Rain Beredo, and Tula Lotay

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: July 30, 2025

 

Deep down, we believe that words shouldn’t hurt us. Perhaps some, like Mr Spock, can dismiss hurtful words dispassionately. But even words meant to calm and console can lead to anger or depression. Words can ruin relationships and destroy lives. How might dialogue and argument draw friends closer together or push them apart? Let’s grab a bottle of wine, leap into The War #1, and see!

 

Story

Russia and Ukraine are attending a summit. But they do so without Volodymyr Zelenskyy. David argues that the Ukrainian war cannot worsen. Luke claims that Russia will never trust NATO. Both men urge their friends to follow the news in The War #1. Informing yourself about contemporary events is healthy and empowering.

 

After the eight friends part ways, their conversation continues. Reports of increasing tensions and violence drive the dialogue between partners and friends. With President Zelenskyy dead, Russia's focus shifts to Ukraine's allies. As Luke argued, NATO awakened the slumbering beast. Whether or not the friends view Vladimir Putin as rational, the Russian president has a vast arsenal at his disposal.

 

The War #1 is a dialogue-driven story that questions our readiness for war as individuals and as a society. Unlike in The Kids #1, when the world changes overnight, Garth Ennis probes what happens when the apocalypse approaches more slowly. Some draw comfort from reason. Others ponder a quick death. People mourn loved ones they will never see again. Relationships hang on tenterhooks, swayed by storms of emotion. David, Luke, and their friends process the situation by discussing it in these first three serial installments from the Hello Darkness series. But how can words bring comfort or support when a city can vanish in the blink of an eye?

 

Art

Tamra Bonvillain contributes a loaded palette to The War #1. Yellow, green, and pink enliven the evening get-together. When starlight pierces David and Nikki’s darkened bedroom, greens, blues, and skin tones glow and highlight an iconic movie poster. Streetlamps paint the sidewalks yellow as residents pack their cars, while taillights leave a trail of red. Pink and orange fill the sky as Travis and Grace opt for the safe course.

 

Becky Cloonan’s detailed penciling shows Luke’s involvement in the discussion, while Stefan props his cheek on his knuckles and closes his eyes. Nikki glares a quiet storm but rarely focuses it on David. Maggie and Spencer stand on a lonely platform before boarding an empty subway carriage. As Grace watches the TV from the couch, Travis presses his forearm against the wall window of their apartment. Instead of studying nearby high-rises, he stares at his phone. While Tamra Bonvillain reveals light sources and directions through color, Becky Cloonan enhances shadows and backgrounds with stippling. The dots suggest the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the friends like dust hurled into the air.

 

Pat Brosseau fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase letters that grow bold for emphasis and shrink for lowered voices. Lowercase text in blue and gray fields differentiates texts between David and Luke. While emotion and raised voices enlarge words and reshape balloons, sound effects erupt once amid an approaching storm. Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

People often hypothesize their actions in foreseeable futures. But you can’t know how you would react to a situation until you experience it. And weapons of mass destruction can make the best-intended actions irrelevant. In The War #1, eight friends—David and Nikki, Luke and Stefan, Travis and Grace, and Maggie and Spencer—react to the threat and reality of war in different ways. Whether their actions seem wise or foolish to others, they are all very Human.

 

Rating 9.3/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.