Enormous review.

I was very happy to get a review copy of Enormous #4 in this week. Tim Daniel has been very good to me in sending me it out. I have been a big fan of the book since it’s release and can say things get crazy from here on out.
If you are unfamiliar, Enormous is a comic book done by the creative team of (wr) Tim Daniel and (a) Mehdi Cheggour. The comic is published by 215 INK. A treasury sized one shot was released by Image Comics previously.
The story centers around the premise that giant monsters have suddenly appeared and man is no longer on top of the food chain. The giant monsters are very realistic in the fact they appear to be mutated animals, and not more fantastical creatures. The apparent source of the mutation is crystalline spores coming out of the ground. We learn early on that people can be effected by it too.
The story follows a couple, Ellen and Megan initially, and how they are dealing with the disaster of epic proportion. Ellen runs off to save her mom, while Megan heads back to her school to help get the children to safety. Things go pear shaped.
The first three issues are fast paced and full of action. Tim Daniel does an excellent job of introducing the characters, giving enough back story to make them interesting, and putting them through their paces very quickly. The art and covers by Mehdi Cheggour are breathtaking, and the monsters appearance is something out of the best Kaiju movie anyone could come up with. There are variants for each issue, featuring art by some of the very best up and coming stars of the comic world.
Issue four, which features a huge shift in the pacing, sets the series up for some big changes and a hint at what is to come. I do not want to get into it too much, but there is character development, leading towards what was shown in the Treasury Sized book.
The strength of this series comes from the dynamic combination of art and writing. The story is engaging and keeps you interesting while the art hooks your eyes with monster design which is incredible. It is refreshing to see a book heat up because it is so good, and not just a media deal. People throw around the phrase “the next Walking Dead” when it comes to hot books. While I am not saying this book is the next Walking Dead, I can easily say Enormous has done for the giant monster genre what Walking Dead did for the zombie genre. Focus on the characters and the drama, while having the ever present threat of the monsters.
I have a feeling this series will be around for the long haul.
A trade paper back will be coming out after issue #6, but collectors will want to get the single issues as the print runs are extremely low. The following prices are at time of writing:
Enormous #1– covers a and b are currently going for $13-$14
Enormous #1 2nd printing– features a new cover, and will be released on 9/17/14, is already going for $14.
Enormous #1 Phantom Variant is going for $22-$49, with a CGC 9.8 selling for $450. Print run was 544 copies
Enormous #1 Hastings Variant is going for $10-16. Print run was 800 copies.
Enormous #2 is going for $10-14.
Enormous #3is still a wild card, going for $11-19, with people having trouble finding copies.
Enormous #4, out in September, is already sold out in many online stores (tfaw, midtown) and will have a higher print run, but still not huge (look about double previous issues.)
Enormous #5 out October 29, is starting to sell out in advance (even with the larger print run.)
Enormous #6 out November 26, is the end of the first story arc.