A comiXologist Recommends:
Eric Arroyo recommends Exterminite #1

When your deepest worries and darkest fears assault your dreams, a strong cup of coffee might not be enough to help you face the world. But for a small fee, you can hire Nat to help you conquer your traumas and get a restful night’s sleep. Nat’s flavor of therapy isn’t covered by most insurance plans, though; he literally enters your thoughts and faces your fears head-on.

In Exterminite #1, Mikey Neumann and Len Peralta have teamed up to introduce an equally-quirky pair: Kylie, a nightmare-afflicted Clevelander with her job and her sanity on the line, and Nat, an air-headed nightmare consultant with a fashion sense that matches his poor acumen for business. Kylie’s desperate and sleep-deprived enough to mind-meld with Nat, beginning a psychedelic adventure through which the pair begin sorting each other’s lives.

Within the Mare-Space, Nat coaches his clients on using lucid dreaming to take control of their dreams; in practice, this allows Kylie to empower Nat to fight off her monstrous nightmares. Together, Kylie and Nat explore their own fears and insecurities, and ultimately wield their emotions as weapons to fight off their inner-darkness - literally. Exterminite explores genuine experiences and fears, and effectively uses the weird domain of the Mare-Space to tackle true-to-life issues with humor and satisfying physicality. Tim Switalski’s colors bring an extra dimension of life to the battles in the Mare-Space, adding a fluorescent haunted house aesthetic that highlights the whimsical and unsettling nature of our dreams.

Ultimately, Exterminite isn’t about letting a hero swoop in and solve your problems. This opening tale reminds us that trusting others and working together can empower us to take control of our lives, and I look forward to seeing what Kylie and Nat accomplish with this power. 

[Read Exterminite #1 on comiXology]

Eric Alexander Arroyo is a Brooklyn-based cartoonist and a Digital Editor at comiXology. He’s probably drawing giant robots and listening to ABBA.