Syphon

Syphon #1-3

by Mohsen Ashraf, Patrick Meaney, Jeff Edwards (Artist)

When a fast-living EMT is entrusted with the power to sense and siphon pain from others, Sylas is presented with a new purpose: to ease the misery of those around him. But the more he uses this gift, the more it curses him with carrying the burdens of others' pain. And it soon attracts the attention of mysterious forces who covet the power for themselves, forcing Sylas to decide whether he will continue his mission or revert to his old ways.

Comic book documentarian Patrick Meaney (Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods, The Image Revolution) teams up with artist Jeff Edwards (G.I. JOE) with a story by Mohsen Ashraf for a creator-owned, noir fantasy evoking the lore of Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS and the psychological thrilling action of M. Night Shyamalan's UNBREAKABLE. Collects Syphon #1-3

Genres: Graphic Novels

128 pages, Paperback

First published December 28, 2021

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice surprise. It's about a paramedic who is given the ability to syphon other people's pain away, although it then goes into him. After he discovers someone else like him, he realizes he can syphon other emotions as well. It's an interesting take on an empath. Jeff Edwards's art looked really polished for someone whom I assume is new to comics. It is quite short at only 3 issues. The last 50 pages are pencils and inks of the interior art.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A paramedic discovers the power to absorb pain from other people - the problem is, it has to go somewhere. And when he finds out that there are other people out there like him, not all with the best of intentions, his world will be turned entirely upside down.

The ideas at play here are really interesting. They're not entirely innovative, redistributing pain isn't massively new, nor are conspiracies reaching back to the dawn of time, but they're employed here well enough to keep me hooked through the three issues. I was surprised to find that there were only three issues planned as well - I thought something more was being set-up here, maybe it'll come back again sometime soon.

The artwork definitely reminds me of other 90s Top Cow titles like The Darkness and Witchblade, with an edge of Kyle Hotz. It's not bad at all, but I doubt I could pick it out of a line-up - it does the job, and that's all we really need.

Syphon's not reinventing the wheel, but it has a good plan in place and a likeable main character that keep things ticking over. I'm intrigued enough to want more, but if it never returns, I can live with that too.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now here is one thing that I can definitely get a strong feeling from. As someone on the spectrum, I really like stories that invoke empathy, but maybe not as much as the Last of Us Part II.

Sylus' condition/power is definitely something I noticed. On his own, he has the power to take on people's burdens. To me it relates to my own desires to want to make people feel better, but I could never do it right. At the same time, I really enjoyed how Sylus' power was a burden. I actually experienced a time when I felt so much that a person had at one point that it became overwhelming, like it triggered something like a trauma. I didn't have a girlfriend to be a pleasure friend, just someone who became dependent on having a shoulder to cry on. I could feel Sylus' sense of frustration that he wanted to keep away from people less he shares a toxic frustration.

And then there's Antonio. He is very much what some of the more pessimistic sort believe being on the autistic spectrum is, a.k.a. a sociopath. He's lonely and he wants to share a life with people who are like him. The only problem is, he's incapable of actually having relationships and wants to bend people to his will. His ability to steal people's joy could even be a way of saying he's incapable of producing his own joy and needs to take it from others. I fear times when I could do this to others. I also have a harder time reading other people.

So yeah for such a short comic, this leaves a grand impression on me. I have a feeling not a lot of others will be affected as I do, but this captures a lot of feelings I have in my own life.

[Alex Sarll]

The opening scene already had me bored, with powerful person A dispatching powerful person B because the latter is weak for using the power to heal. But it was when we switched to the paramedic lead that I really lost patience, what with him having apparently not thought to apply the most rudimentary dressing or pressure to his patient's severed finger before getting him into the ambulance to spurt blood everywhere in transit. I mean, I've never even done a first aid course and I'm still pretty sure that's ass-backwards. And then, inevitably, the paramedic gets the power from B and there's a flirtation scene so rote it's almost impressive and I'm sorry, even if this is under 100 pages long, I still couldn't bring myself to persevere.

(Edelweiss ARC)

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't great, partially because it's very much the first installment of a series. The characters are very much cardboard cut-out archetypes and have no personal appeal to me, and the book is very heavy-handed with its "messages.". That said, in no small part due to the times during which we are living (global pandemic, etc), this book tugs a bit at the heartstrings because the main character struggles with seeing so much pain and suffering in the world, sacrificing no small part of himself in order to comfort those around him/make the world a better place.

Digital Review copy from Edelweiss+

[Paul Allard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good and short comic series, mostly quite original.

A paramedic gains the power to relieve pain but is that enough? Does he use the power for good or is there another side to this power? It’s quite good stuff, moving along quickly and nicely illustrated and colourful. It’s a short series which I value although there may well be more to come. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a Lucky Man but for mood, if you see what I mean. Our hero is a first responder who gets the gift of seeing misery, unhappiness and suchlike, and deflecting and/or sharing that to help his fellow man. Which might help humankind, but won't necessarily help him – but can a mysterious stranger with a dodgy haircut do that instead? Question the page count, as what I saw was just three monthlies, and it wasn't that exciting or fresh. Man with generic dislike for his powers? Check. Token baddy (albeit with naff hair)? Check. Problematic relationship with women due to his powers? OK, that's not universal – and there is just about enough here to make it vaguely interesting, but not enough to demand I read a second volume in the future. A couple of times it proved itself so unsure of its narrative footing it felt like I'd had ten pages disappear down a rabbit hole before I got to them, and logic and motivation are kind of questionable here, especially with the key female at the end of these pages.

[Josh]

In their profession, EMTs are surrounded by the pain of those they seek to help. In Mohsen Ashraf’s miniseries Syphon, this reality manifests literally in the life of Sylas, who finds himself able to recognize and siphon away other people’s pain—a newfound power that will test him more than he expects.

Full review at: https://noflyingnotights.com/blog/202...

[Kaylea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the illustrations and the use of the vibrant purples and reds. This was a short read, but detailed enough to keep my attention. It didn't take long for me to feel for Sylas and get hooked onto the storyline. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3

Total review score: 2

[Cody Roecker]

Stunning artwork! But overall this was a miss - not enough of a concrete storyline that makes sense and things seemed to jump around a bit.

[Juliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute enough and entertaining, but quite predictable and run of the mill.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars. Art over story.

Review submitted to Diamond Bookshelf for potential professional publication.

[archie · Rating 2 out of 5]

very striking visually but i don’t care for the story or the characters