Comic Break: The Cleaners #1 (Dark Horse Comics)

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The Cleaners
Issue: #1
Writer: Mark Wheaton and Joshua Hale Fialkov
Artist: Rahsan Ekedal
32 pp. Dark Horse Comics. $2.99

Reviewed by Paul Stotts

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“A single human body is a toxic cesspool capable of incubating enough of any given plague to wipe out a civilization.”—The Cleaners #1

Trauma cleaning must be the job de jour at the moment since it’s featured not only in Charlie Huston new novel “The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death”, but also in a new comic series from Dark Horse Comics called The Cleaners. Who would have known that crime scene cleanup would be such an attractive occupation. (Not to mention that both books feature trauma cleaners working the L.A. area, which I guess says a lot about Los Angeles.)

For those who aren’t familiar with trauma cleaning (and I was recently one of them), these specialists clean up violent scenes after the police have finished their investigation. Cleaners are like the Merry Maids for biohazardous waste, properly treating and disposing of blood and human tissue. It’s a gruesome job, and oddly fascinating (much like one’s attraction to car wrecks).

The first issue immerses us into the life of L.A. based trauma cleaner Dr. Robert Bellarmine. We don’t learn a whole lot about the good doctor in the issue, but we do learn quite a bit about his job. As I was reading the issue, I grew interested in why Bellarmine had decided to become a trauma cleaner. Writers Mark Wheaton and Joshua Hale Fialkov leave this question unanswered, but hint towards a future answer. The comic is really made by the novelty of Bellarmine’s occupation. I found after finishing the issue, I wanted to read more, if only to get a better feel for the events and characters.

The forensic science tidbits that serve as the basis for trauma cleaning were interesting, and I enjoyed how Wheaton and Fialkov along with promising artist Rahsan Ekedal laid out the scenes that featured Bellarmine’s tools of the trade. Some of the minor characters and their relationship with Bellarmine were confusing, but I figure this is something that will be fleshed out in future issues.

Overall, the first issue of The Cleaners turns Bellarmine’s intriguing line of work into a promising start for a new comic series.

Final Grade: 76 out of 100