Clone vol. 1: First Generation

While I’m always up for a good science-fiction story, this title also had the benefit of Robert Kirkman’s seal of approval since it comes via the writer’s Skybound imprint at Image.  Unfortunately Kirkman’s endorsement was misapplied here as the first volume of “Clone” introduces us to Dr. Luke Taylor and his predicament in terms more generic than anything else.  The good doctor is living the good life with his wife and a kid on the way when he wakes up one day to see a blood trail leading into the kitchen to reveal… himself.  Turns out that Luke is part of a secret government cloning program that they’re finally cleaning up after all these years in no uncertain terms.  Not only do they have one of the clones working for them, but they also kidnap Luke’s pregnant wife not just for leverage, but due to the breakthrough she represents.

That breakthrough is that she’s carrying what could be the first child of a clone which is important because… Well, we’re not told.  In fact, I think it’d be more strange if a clone wasn’t able to produce kids normally since they’re clones.  Dodgy science aside, this volume is done in by the vanilla characters in writer David Schulner’s script and his painfully boring dialogue style where just about everyone speaks in generic declarations.  “Who are you!?  What are you?’’  “Get in.  Before it’s too late.”  “I’m willing to make a trade.”  “What do you have that I could possibly want?” — I could go on, but we’d be here all goddamn night if I had to pick out every phrase of this sort in the volume.  Juan Jose Ryp provides his customary level of intense detail and does his best to make the action and talking heads exciting.  However, the man has been given precious little to work with and the reality is that no amount of excellent art was going to save something as blandly conceived and executed as this.