A Review of ‘Bliss #1’ is a Collision of Gothic Fantasy and Healthcare Concerns

Writer: Sean Lewis / Artist: Caitlin Yarksy / Image For a nontrivial amount of time, I’ve worked in a healthcare adjacent industry. Which pertinent, insofar, that during said time I learned a lot about the inner workings of hospitals that made me deeply disenfranchised with certain parts of how the system works. I bring this up because Bliss brings it up, in not so many words: what would you do to ensure that a loved one got the treatment they needed? How much of yourself would you be willing to lose to pay for said treatment?

Of course in the dark fantasy world of Bliss, the prices paid and tolls taken are far more dramatic than anything in the real world. Although, I could very reasonably argue that its hits just as hard in both worlds. Bliss is a story being told within a frame. Perry Ohara is testifying on behalf of his father Benton Ohara, a citizen of Feral City which is exactly the den of villainy you’d expect from a city named Feral. As we hear about the tragic circumstances of Benton and Mabel’s relationship, Perry’s hospitalization, and most crucially Benton’s reaction to the bill. It’s all done in hauntingly beautiful movements. Lewis combines the clinical chatter of the hospital against the emotional reactions of passersby of a downtrodden father. Yarksy’s artwork is beautiful with its subtle curvature, oval motifs, and dynamic perspective. And that’s true even before we get to the more fantastical elements of the narrative where everything ramps up to the next l…