The place – Mars. The year –  2770. An unexplained catastrophe occurred on Earth and now all that remains of the human race lives on Mars. Morale is low and the people are in need of distractions from the dire reality around them.

Enter Nathan Bright. He’s the most popular early-morning weatherman on Mars and very good at distracting people from their troubles. He also just had a date ruined by the unexpected arrival of several heavily armed men.

Granted, it’s a novel change from the dates Nathan usually has ruined by virtue of most women seeing a celebrity like him as the ultimate fashion accessory. Or the dates that Nathan ruins by… well, being himself.

Despite this, Nathan is a basically decent guy, if you ignore his complete lack of any work ethic, his drunken jackassery, his shallowness, his poor hygeine and his general lack of any scruples regarding his job. At the very least, his dog seems to like him.

Unfortunately, Nathan’s dog won’t be able to save him now that he’s been accused of the murder of nearly everyone on Earth. Long story…

So how exactly does a man with the manners of the typical drunken college frat boy not only become a big celebrity for telling the weather on a now colonized Mars, but also become a man with a target on his back? This is the story at the heart of The Weatherman #1.

I will admit at first I was afraid I was not going to like Nathan Bright. He reminded me of every drunken “bro” I knew in college, who thought the best way to get women to go out with him was to do an impression of Austin Powers. However, I grew to like him as the issue progressed, revealing a surprising depth to the character beyond his buffoonery.

I was also won over by the neck-brake pacing of the story-telling. Jody Leheup’s great writing prevented me from getting lost in the story or ever becoming bored with the plot in this debut issue. This was especially true in the intense action sequences.

These sequences are rendered in an visually pleasing art style by Nathan Fox. I know it’s cliche to compare any sort of futuristic dystopia to Blade Runner or Cowboy Bebop but Fox taps into a similar aesthetic with his vision of how the future cities of Mars appear. There also a hint of Aeon Flux in the choreography of the action sequences, though Fox’s style is all his own. The colors by Dave Stewart are also fantastically rendered, putting a shiny neon layer of glitz over the dark and gritty world of tomorrow. Even the letters by Steve Wands hint at the futuristic nature of the world we see.

The Weatherman #1 grabbed my attention from the very first page and now holds it completely. I’m looking forward to the future issues immensely.