MPH issue #1 by Mark Millar & Duncan Fegredo

There are different covers
but this is the one I got a copy of.

I was really hoping that this was going the way of the Paul Pope cyberpunk novel. It actually begins with an intro in 1986 and then jumps to present day 2014. Instead of long haired, cyberpunk addicts, we've got shaved head, modern day gangsters. Yet this is the part that reminds me of Pope, drugs that give you superpowers. Although this story doesn't take place in a future dystopian society, it does start out in Detroit. Oops, that sounded really awful. But seriously, present day Detroit is practically post-apocalyptic. Here's the rundown:

Our main character becomes incarcerated for selling cocaine. Upon learning that his boss Hal set him up for a 15 year stint in prison, he tries to unwind with some strange drug. The only indication on what the drug could be is written on the side of the bottle "MPH". Why anyone would take speed to unwind is beyond me but it's pretty clear what we're dealing with. Our main character isn't quite so bright and takes the drug after being told it's amphetamine. Speed is what he does. He speeds himself right out of prison and after the person who put him there. See how this is sort of reminding me of Heavy Liquid?

Artwork-wise, it's not my thing. Fegredo is talented but he's got little to offer me personally as we know what kind of thing I go for. Lots of choppy lines, pencil strokes, messy paint, a little interpretive dance (I'm joking about the last part). Anyway, he's too clean for me. Might be your thing, but it's not mine. However, this doesn't turn me off of the story as I do want to see where all this is going. Don't you want to know who made the MPH and why it mysteriously turns up in the hands of an imprisoned convict? I want to know so I'm grabbing issue 2 when it makes it's way out. At the back of the issue, Millar assures us that everything is happening on time with this series. If the punctual releases of Starlight are any indication, I believe he's being truthful.