Given that Millar is known for doing controversial work, and the image on the cover is tongue-in-cheek to say the least, it came as somewhat of a surprise to see that Chosen is played pretty straight. In fact, rather than being an over-the-top send up of Jesus Christ, it instead maps the Christian notion of the second coming on top of the teenage superhero origin story with a touch of abstract fantasy/horror in the mix. The result is one of the strongest efforts we've seen from Millar's pen, graced with the strongest art we've ever seen from Peter Gross. Even those who usually don't find Millar's work to their taste should check this one out; it's a promising start to a series with a very unusual premise.
Just how do you make Jesus Christ, son of God who is perfect by divine intention, a sympathetic character? Well, in the case of Chosen, you start him off not knowing who he is going to become. Millar's story starts out looking more like your average coming of age story, as three boys set off in the woods to find a porno magazine that they've heard is out there. Millar has a lot of fun with this opening sequence, riffing on typical teenage boy dialogue and throwing in a few '80s references so we get a feel for the era (and one or two that are a little before their time, like Ritalin). Given that the majority of the target audience was probably that age in the '80s, suddenly we're right there with Jodie, getting exactly what he's about.
And then everything changes. Millar grounds Jodie's life in the real, but he doesn't take too long before introducing the more unusual elements of the story. The reader knows where Millar is going with this story, but the characters don't, and that sense of awareness slowly dawning on them plays out nicely throughout the tale. The priest who has lost his faith makes an interesting commentator on the events, and Jodie's secular view of these unusual powers is good for a laugh, as well as a nice wink and nod to the story structure that Millar is using. At the same time, though, there's a sort of partly creepy suspense hanging over the whole thing, like an M. Night Shyamalan film where you're waiting for the other shoe to drop. But there's a sense of wonder as well, especially with Jodie's display of power in the classroom.
Peter Gross is an artist who I've always liked, and whose work I still enjoy on Lucifer, but he's using a slightly different style on Chosen, and it's actually some of the best work I've seen him do. Part of this may be down to the rich, saturated colors of Jeanne McGee, who gives the whole thing a sort of weirdly lit look, especially the hospital scenes, but there's no denying that Gross has brought his "A" game to Chosen. The double page splash of the truck bearing down on Jodie is a terrific snapshot of that moment, saying everything that needs to be said, and he does a great job capturing what's going through the characters' heads as well, particularly the annoyance of Mr. Fremont or the weary, awestruck appearance of Jodie's mom near the end.
The big question raised by Chosen #1 is "where do we go from here?" Millar's surprisingly grounded take on this first issue has me anxious to see how he'll handle the rest of the traditionally loud and epic Revelations story.
