3005 A. D.; mankind goes back to Mars for the first time in 700 years. Mars should have been vacant, no one had been there in a very long time, the great structures with atmosphere had decayed and were beginning to crumble. But these intrepid explorers weren't alone. Sometimes it is better to leave things the way they are. Didn't your Mother ever tell you not to touch and put that back? Will humans never learn? They are such infants when it comes to common sense.

Six months later, the N5S virus has begun to have a lovely effect, it is a nasty little thing. It makes humans into walking zombies and they become nothing more than the age old apocalyptic scavenger. Zoichi, our hero, has been sent to help cleanse a large city know as 9J0. It is down to only 9027 humans but most are infected with the N5S and have become Drones. There is one special human in the bunch, she is an accommodator of the virus and has some very special abilities. She also has a big talking and shooting Bear as a bodyguard. Her name is Eon Green. 

The other inhabitants in the city are the Public Health Services Compulsory Execution Unit (CEU) and they are looking to make their mark and also find Eon. This elite team also has its special synthetic humans hunters and are moving quickly on the target. 

What we are seeing is the beginning of the end and it looks like the CEU has gone rogue. They appear to have harnessed some of the N5S virus and are collecting accommodators. Their goal is to take humanity to its next stage of development. It looks like Zoichi and his bosses at TOA Heavy Industry must figure out a way to save humanity before the zombies rule.

Overall

The opening volume of Biomega is very dark and fast moving. The adrenaline is flowing from the opening chapter thru the very last page. This is both the strength and weakness of the story. There is very little discussion and much of the story unfolds through the images. This left me wanting for much, much more. It was not until midway through the first volume that I began to understand what was going on, and it was just enough to help me begin to connect with the characters. I did find it easy to know who to try and bond with. The characters are either slick attractive humans, slimy drones or even walking skeletal masked hunters that are almost indestructible. I tend to lean toward the pretty humans.

Wow, this is a hard ride and if you are looking for action from one page to the next,  jump aboard. If on the other hand you are looking for a thought-provoking drama with a solid Sci-Fi backbone, I'm not too sure this will be there for you.  I'm not positive but I believe Tsutomu Nihei may be out to use a pre-apocalyptic future to be the backdrop for a  slambang action adventure.  I am looking forward to the next volume hoping it begins to answer some questions. Check this out if you like action, but it is rated M due to the violence. I do not recommend this for the younger audience. But for all you adrenaline junkies this just might be your cup of "MONSTER" or "RED BULL".

ComicsOnline gives Biomega Volume 1 3.5 out of 5 Grizzly Bears with long range rifles.