Nat thought she was getting away from her life as a doctor at St. Lilith’s. But when her friend Val arrives on her doorstep badly wounded, will Nat be drawn back in? Find out in The Ward #1 from Dark Horse Comics!
THE WARD #1
Writer: Cavan Scott
Artist: Andres Ponce
Letterer: Mauro Mantella
Editor: Dave Marshall
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 8, 2022
Previously in The Ward: Dr. Nat Reeves has left her job at St. Lilith’s. The facility is underfunded and the staff are overworked. To top that off, it is a secret hospital serving the supernatural. But Nat has finally left that life behind…or so she thought.
A DAY GOES FROM CRAZY TO WORSE
The Ward #1 opens with Nat racing home late from her new job. But when she reaches her apartment door, her older neighbor Wilfred is there holding a young woman who is injured and bleeding. She had been pounding on Nat’s door, and when he came out to see what was going on, she had collapsed. Nat knows this young woman, Val, and asks Wilfred to help carry her into the apartment. Nat checks her over and sees the single stab wound as well as some burns. Wilfred notices that Val has a tail.
Nat calls for an ambulance and asks Wilfred to help stanch the bleeding. The ambulance arrives, and both of them go along with Val. Nat knows the paramedic, a young woman named Ceri. Wilfred is happy to help, but he feels that something is odd, especially when the ambulance heads straight for a brick wall. The ambulance phases through and we are introduced to St. Lilith’s.
Imagine, if you will, the most chaotic emergency room you can, and then substitute various supernatural beings in for both the patients and the staff. This is a hospital stretched to its limits, and this is when we learn that Nat had worked here until three years ago. Even so, she fits right in and steps up to work on Val. Meanwhile, poor Wilfred is trying to take this all in and make sense out of what is happening.
A minotaur (Starn) comes in missing a horn and bleeding profusely. He is also angry and demanding to be released, enough that he throws Luis Cervantes, a resident, into the wall. The attending physician, Dr. Kumasaka, is a ghost. Nat keeps working on Val; Cervantes works on the minotaur who makes some comment about Val before going into a seizure. Cervantes has to decompress the skull in the ER. It is when he realizes that minotaur bone is super tough and Nat recommends he use a Wyrmtooth blade, that she realizes Val’s wound could have been caused by Starn’s horn.
Starn is covered in piercings, and some iron from his horn has gotten into Val’s wound. Between Nat and Luis, they stabilize their patients. Wilfred has finally gotten over his shock and is amazed at the hospital and happy that he could help out. But Val, who works at the hospital, makes him forget his experience.
But will Nat be able to return to her mundane life as though none of this happened?
A WONDERFUL BLEND OF REALISM AND FANTASY
The art of The Ward #1 is solid. There is a strong sense of realism which sets up the opening scene as a medical emergency involving a friend of Nat’s. Val’s tail pops up in a small, final panel. This fits with Nat’s nonchalance as she tries to downplay anything unusual. All of this leads to the payoff of the double-page that introduces us to St. Lilith’s, delightfully presented as a normal hospital full of paranormal visitors.
The establishing shot of the ER shows us that it is an extremely busy place and gives us a feel for how unusual many of the patients are. I appreciate that we then immediately focus in on Val and Starn, the two cases that turn out to be interrelated. It sets up introductions to other supernatural characters as well as showing us the contrast between Nat and Luis. This issue’s medical mystery is resolved quickly, but I like the way it feels like a medical drama.
BOTTOM LINE: A SLICE OF NOT QUITE LIFE
If you like urban fantasy and/or medical dramas, The Ward #1 should be right up your alley. The premise is interesting, and we can tell that there is some history between characters. It is an entertaining read and I look forward to seeing more.
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The Ward #1
Just another day at St. Lilith’s, the hospital for the supernatural.
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By day, she’s a mild-mannered bureaucrat and Ms. Know-It-All. By night, she’s a dance teacher and RPG player (although admittedly not on the same nights). On the weekends, she may be found judging Magic, playing Guild Wars 2 (badly), or following other creative pursuits. Holy Lack of Copious Free Time, Batman! While she’s always wished she had teleportation as her superpower, she suspects that super-speed would be much more practical because then she’d have time to finish up those steampunk costumes she’s also working on.