The stereotype that ugly people never have sex is essentially a reality within this story's landscape, and the violence against so-called beauties - mentioned but as yet unseen - could logically be rooted in jealousy, moral objection, class warfare or any combination thereof.

The new world social structure (and implied commentary thereof) is the compelling point of Haun and Hurley's story whatever perceived inequality between those considered attractive and those who are not is openly brought to the surface here. John Rauch takes a similar approach with the coloring it's non-descript but makes for a pleasing complement to Haun's lines. Some characters are apparently supposed to be less than attractive, but that just doesn't come out in Haun's art all of his characters are well-rendered, but his art is just too pleasant to make any of them all that ugly looking. Only in a comic such as this, though, could that attractiveness serve as a detriment to the story, which somewhat relies on having an understanding of who has contracted this disease and who hasn't. Throughout, Haun's art is attractive in its simplicity, sticking with traditional panel layouts and visual perspectives. For anyone not buying into it, the writers waste little time and also reveal one of the disease's decidedly negative - but apparently rare - side-effects. It's a pretty simple and straightforward explanation and plainly illustrated via a series of panels in urban settings that imply that this disease has spread far and wide. Appearing to expect that some might have trouble swallowing this idea, the writers kick off the issue not with its central characters, but instead with a narrative that explains the onset of the Beauty as well as the current status quo surrounding it. Haun and Hurley trust their readership to make the same kind of leap here, asking them to accept that one can achieve the looks of a supermodel by engaging in sex with an STD-infected partner.

For over fifty years, comic fans have been all-too-willing to believe that a nerdy teenage kid can get superpowers from a radioactive spider bite.

The Beauty, Vol. 1 by Jeremy Haun