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Ocean #1 is the first of a six issue mini written by the prolific Warren Ellis (The Authority, Stormwatch) and drawn by Chris Sprouse (Tom Strong). Wildstorm's marketing copy promises an exciting and thoughtful science fiction story: "Within [the cold ocean waters of the moon Europa] could rest the key to life on Earth — and possibly its extinction!" Except for a cryptic prologue, the promised story apparently won't surface until next issue.

Every story needs exposition and that's what Ocean #1 is all about. Readers are introduced to a New York City of the future, one that looks like today's New York but retrofitted with nifty futuristic items, like ankle-high trash bins that instantly vaporize garbage. This is where we meet the yet-unnamed main character, an athletic fellow in an expensive suit. As we get to know the character we begin to see that he presents several conflicting personality traits. At times he is the strong silent type, at other times he'll strike up conversations with strangers. We eventually learn that he's a detective and a fighter, both at Batman-level skills, yet his day job is that of a futuristic UN weapons inspector. While not impossible to conceive, it's difficult to reconcile this image when the real-world news has depicted scholarly weapons inspectors for the last few years. Finally, when he's assaulted on Mars he could have used the gun he carries to defend himself, yet he chooses instead to manually disarm his assailants and use their own weapons against them. (He declares later that he hates guns.) So we have a main character who can do it all without working up a sweat: sleuth, kill with his bare hands, and uphold supreme personal morals and ideals. Yet by making the character so powerful we already absolutely know that this guy is going to win against whomever the antagonist turns out to be. Will there be enough suspense, enough mystery for the reader?

While largely fine for the story, the dialogue seems forced at times, and the few instances of crudity felt out of place and overwrought. In one instance dialogue was used in an effort to further define the setting for the story, but seemed to miss its mark.

"What's that in your hand?"

"It's a book."

"Oh, is that what they look like?"

Is this a time in the future where paperback books are nearly unknown? Or is the first speaker simply one who doesn't read books but instead relies on the future's current spate of reality TV for her information and entertainment?

The art is strong. There is never a doubt as to what action is taking place, and for the most part the choice of shots made for clear and sometimes dramatic scenes. Yet the real attraction to this series is the story itself, and we really haven't seen much of that yet. Readers will likely come back for issue #2 (a) because it's Warren Ellis, and (b) to give this story a real chance. So little happened in this issue, however, that it will be surprising if anything we learned in these pages will have any real bearing on the rest of the story.