Marcus Nispel’s Chosen #1

Ryan is a normal kid, with normal parents, living in a normal neighbourhood when out of nowhere a group of monks show up at his door and ask him to pick an item displayed on a carpet. Ryan picks a little drum and suddenly the monks declare him the chosen one and reveal to his parents that they must take him away for his training. Needless to say, his parents refuse and later that evening, Ryan is kidnapped and brought to an unknown location. After years of traumatic events, Ryan is put through a series of physical training and fighting until he’s ready for the reality of his true destiny.

The Team

Written by Marcus Nispel( director of Friday the 13^th & The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Gotham Chopra (The Sadhu Vol. 1 : When Realities Collide), Sharad Devarajan & Chuck Dixon (G.I. Joe : Deep Terror, Batman & The Outsiders : The Snare). Illustrated by Edison George (The Silver Scorpion TP). Published by Dynamite Comics.

The Pros & Cons

Not to be confused with Mark Millar’s Chosen. The story deals with an idea that’s been done to death in comics & movies. An individual is picked to be the “chosen one”, usually at a young age and is put through a series of tests & rigorous training. Having said that, I did find this comic mildly entertaining for a few reasons, 1) It’s written by Marcus Nispel, a film director of such horror movie classics like Friday the 13^th & The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 2) Gotham Chopra, an American novelist who is the son of the famous spiritualist Deepak Chopra & 3) The script is by Chuck Dixon, a veteran comic book writer. So even before I read this issue, the combination of those 3 creators was enough to grab my attention as they bring their own little influences to the protagonist Ryan.

Nispel gives Ryan an inner beast that just beckons to be free, just like the monsters like Jason Voorhees & Leatherface, Chopra brings a sense of inner peace, enlightenment & meditation to Ryan and Dixon brings his skills as a professional comic book script writer. Ryan is a conflicted person, who’s path is paved with blood & violence as he realizes there are bigger forces at work than simply being skilled at beating the tar out of people.

The illustrations are from Edison George, a penciller I’m completely unfamiliar with. I’m not sure if he drew the cover, but I’m not crazy about it, at least the inside work is much better and looks decent enough.

The Outcome

This is my second review of a Dynamite comic (my first was The Shadow #1) and although it didn’t blow me away, there’s enough material here to keep you satisfied and being a curious person & a comic book completist, I’ve got to stick around for the next two issues.