The Eye Collector #1 Comic Review: A Bold Mission *UPDATED*
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Jonathan Ball
Artist: GMB Chomichuk
Letterer: Lyndon Radchenka
Cover artist(s): GMB Chomichuk; Eric Zawadzki
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: June 24, 2026
This review was updated in the form of a minor rearrangement and the inclusion of a section regarding the visuals that was left out.
From Image Comics:
“The startling first issue of the strangest series on the stands! An ancient being has its curiosity toward Earth reignited when the humans of the Apollo 10 mission make wishes over the Moon. What is this spectral creature, and what does it want with our world? Seeing is believing…”
To sum up my thoughts on The Eye Collector #1: it’s BOLD. Nearly every aspect about this space horror tale from Jonathan Ball, GMB Chomichuk and Lyndon Radchenka is as risky as the Apollo 10 mission it’s crafted around. It’s bizarre. It doesn’t lay it all out for readers. I’m stressing the risky nature of this endeavor because this book earns every bit of that. And I’m betting the creative team was hoping for that.
At the end of the story is a letter from the creative team to readers. Touching on what Chomichuk wrote specifically, it’s acknowledged how unconventional this story would be in that it breaks from some norms. It’s wildly different than much of what you may typically come across in comic books today. To a point, I find it hard to describe. Take a look at the preview pages to get an idea.
Overall, I can appreciate the storytelling, for the most part, as it unfolds. There’s a narrative flow from the depiction of the crew’s travel and mission to the Eye Collector being true to its name. A sense of eeriness carries throughout the book as the Eye Collector creeps in and out of panels and pages. Its eyes, gangly fingers and sinister smile offer up unique visuals as it makes its presence known.
Regarding the visuals, I do have questions concerning the colors. Is this palette representative of the overall series? Is this look how the team wanted to create the atmosphere and sense of dread that comes with being in space? How will Earth look when the story heads there?
Speaking of that creativity, I would be curious to know the rationale behind some of the choices. That comes from someone who enjoys the art of storytelling and also, is just a curious person in general. One of those is the blending of diagrams depicting the modules and equipment.
They don’t all land for me. Some pages and panels contain imagery I don’t understand. To elaborate, everything depicted in a comic doesn’t need to be explained in detail. As previously stated, that’s part of this book’s charm. There is, however, a line where you can cross from storytelling that’s different and abstract to what can be described as “I don’t know what the hell’s going on here.”
One of the other noteworthy design choices comes with the lettering, an all too often underappreciated aspect of comics. Throughout the book, there are four characters: the title entity and the flight crew, which consists of three astronauts. All of them speak at some point. As shown in the preview pages, each character is designated a different color for their speech bubble. This works especially well as some of the characters speak off page.
I’ve said before that there’s a comic for every reader. The flip side of that is every comic isn’t for every reader. That’s just an accepted idea when dealing with works of fiction. There are risks associated with new comics. That’s true for certain genres more than others. When you make the leap and want to experiment, you run the risk of not finding any audience. On the other hand, the reward is pulling in readers because you triggered something in their imagination and/or that piece of them that enjoys being scared. Horror lovers can attest to that.
The audacious nature of this story and the style in which it’s told could potentially turn some people off. For others, including this writer, it’s intriguing. There’s enough to be curious about from this book, from the titular being’s design and motives to the potential of what may happen back on Earth. There are a number of questions to be answered. The optimistic side of me is hoping we’ll get those answers and this team isn’t just dangling the carrot with no payoff.
The premise is as interesting as the visuals. These creators wanted to take risks and let their creativity fly. And I absolutely respect that. This is the first part of a 12-issue journey and I will have my eye(s) on it.
Disclaimer: I read a copy of this book via the Hoopla Digital app.