Image Comics is publishing a new 5-issue mini-series called Harvest. It explores the shady underworld of illegal organ transplants. Because of the conflict that exists because of the fact that there are not enough people to give organs compared to those who need them, this is a topic that has long fascinated us. A quick google search turns up at least a couple dozen movies based on the concept of people’s organs being harvested because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time or just homeless. Recently there was the movie Repo Men about people who took back the organs of those who were unable to pay for them in full. And there’s been the long-standing urban legend about being rufied and waking up in a bathtub full of ice with your kidneys removed.
Of course, at the center of these stories is often a doctor that’s fallen on hard times. After all, it is against all ethics and they risk the loss of their license if they were ever caught. So maybe they’re under the thumb of a maffioso. In the case of Harvest, protagonist Dr. Ben is a drug addict. While the press release doesn’t put 2 and 2 together, it’s a fair guess that this has led to him being in a position where he’d participate in illegal organ transplant surgeries.
His former boss, Jason Craven, frames him for murder and so Dr. Ben decides to get revenge by removing the organs he’s illegally transplanted into Craven’s clients. On the face of it, it sounds like a pretty exciting story although one wonders how going against his clients is an effective revenge vs going against Craven. Then again, perhaps these people would likely murder Craven over what Dr. Ben does. I guess we’ll have to wait for the story to see how well it works.
Writing this mini-series will be A.J. Leiberman, known for past works such as Cowboy Ninja Viking and Term Life. Art will be handled by Colin Lorimer of Dark Horse Presents who commented, "The story always dictates the style. It's quite a dark tale so I tried to keep it quite muted in tone and in places dirtied up the art to give it a little added texture."
